NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A city K9 and their human are bringing home bronze!
The New York City Department of Correction placed 3rd this past weekend at the first-ever National K9 Detection Dog Challenge Competition.
The city was represented by Correction Officer Lawrence McArdle and K9 Zoey, who team up to detect contraband on Rikers Island.
The K9-human duo beat out seven other teams to take third spot in narcotics detection, locating narcotics hidden in luggage in a setting made to be similar to an airport and then later in two vehicles.
McArdle and Zoey, a German short-haired pointer, scored a 196.34 out of 200.
Todd Putnam
"They are bred to be instinctive high-drive hunting dogs for all types of quarry including rabbits, raccoons, game, birds, deer, and more," said Correction Officer Lawrence McArdle. "We used that naturally given hunting skill and trained Zoey to be an amazing narcotics hunter. We had such a great time and as always, we're proud to represent the NYC Department of Correction."
The first-of-its-kind challenge aired on ESPN2 over the weekend from PNC Arena in North Carolina, where 10 narcotics teams and 10 explosives teams competed to see which could best navigate obstacles and find what they were looking for.
The teams were scored on accuracy of their search, perfection in alerting to the find and making the find itself.
McArdle was recently honored for helping capture an escaped person on Rikers Island, and the duo won a citation award at the USPCA Region 7 Detection Trials.
"Our department sends a round of applause to everyone who competed," said DOC Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi. "We're honored to have been selected to participate and we're extremely proud of Zoey and Officer McArdle. They and all of our K9 teams are invaluable to the safety and security of our jail system, where they work hard every single day."
Lawrence McArdle
