Hanford's first ever patrol K9 hits streets

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- He's an 18-month old, 60-pound Belgian Malinois from Holland, who now calls Hanford home.

"He likes to eat, he likes to play," said Hanford Police Officer Joshua Chavez. "Once he gets out of that car, he's like oh it's time to play. But he also knows when it's time to work."

Chavez and Argos have spent the past couple of months training together in Banning, after the department was finally able to purchase Argos-their first apprehension K9.

He cost $14,000 and it took lots of fundraising by the department's K9 foundation and generous donations from local businesses and community members.

Chavez believes those who helped Argos get here will soon see that their money was well spent. Besides taking down bad guys, Argos can detect drugs and help find people.

"There's many tools that this dog can do," Chavez said. "(We can) put (him) in windows that officers can't go through or other kind of dangerous situations or scenarios where we'd be hesitant to send an officer, but these guys are more than willing to go get the job done themselves."

Friday was their first shift together, and Chavez hopes they can start to form a routine.

He will let other officers know what Argos can do, and encourage them to call him if they think Argos could help.

Eventually, the department would like to add another three K9's.

"I'm hoping to do this job well and for a long time with this guy and hopefully we'll serve diligently and do a good job," Chavez said.

You can visit the Hanford Police's facebook page here.