NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- New York City's Department of Correction's K9 unit is getting ready to prove it has one of the top dogs.
The dogs will go for glory in the inaugural AKC/USPCA K9 Detection Dog Challenge, a first-of-its-kind event that pits the best narcotics and explosive detection dogs and their handlers up against each other.
Competing on behalf of the city DOC is Officer Lawrence McArdle and his K9 Zoey, whose day-to-day job is detecting contraband on Rikers Island.
The challenge will take place at PNC Arena in North Carolina, where 10 narcotics dog teams and 10 explosive detection dog teams will complete to see which can most quickly find their substances.
Lawrence McArdle
The teams will navigate various obstacles and distractions, and will be scored on accuracy of search, perfection of their communication with their handler and overall making the find.
The competition will be broadcast on ESPN2 on Sunday at 10 p.m.
"I'm so excited to participate in the 2021 Inaugural AKC/USPCA K9 Detection Dog Challenge with my pal Zoey," said McArdle. "We will do our absolute best to bring home the grand prize!"
McArdle was recently honored with a duty medal for helping capture a person who escaped a housing facility on Rikers Island, and the Zoey-McArdle team won a citation award at USPCA Region 7 Detection Trials.
