This shelter dog was a “owner surrender” who is now repaying the favor by demonstrating the possibility of second chances.
Arrow, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois mix, required a special human companion to recognize his bravery and talent and assist him in transitioning from a long-term shelter pup to the furriest new member of a Pennsylvania police department.
Arrow, who had been in the Burlington County Animal Shelter east of Philadelphia for nearly eight months after his owner surrendered him, caught the eye of Deb Bucci, an animal shelter employee. “Their brains are continuous, especially in the Malinois,” Bucci tells the Burlington County Times. “They go insane when they’re put in the kennel.” Bucci started working with Arrow “every chance she got” with this goal in mind.
As she worked with him, the shelter’s search for Arrow’s forever home continued. Several months passed with no success in adoption—that is, until last summer, when a last-ditch social media post was answered. Bucci shared Arrow’s story on Facebook, where she met Angela Connor, co-founder and chief financial officer of the Rescue 22 Foundation, which trains service dogs for our country’s wounded soldiers.
Connor tells the publication, “I knew Arrow wasn’t going to be a good fit for a service dog. I came in and analyzed Arrow, and I discovered that a lot of the difficult behavior that most people would find was exactly the type of behavior we’re looking for in police work.”
Arrow was adopted by Connor and the Rescue 22 Foundation for three months and worked with him until the Philadelphia Police K-9 Training Unit stepped in and found him a job in September. Kyle Heasley, a Lower Southampton Township Police Department patrolman, became Arrow’s owner as well as a police partner. They train and collaborate on a daily basis.
“Everyone in the community is very supportive and happy that we now have a police dog,” Heasley told the New York Times. “The department, as well as all of the officers, are pleased. He’s been an excellent addition to the team.”
Arrow is “exactly like a family dog when we get home,” according to Heasley, who also gave him a high performance rating. Arrow has been trained as a police dog and a drug-sniffing dog, and Heasley claims that he understands when to switch from work mode to home mode. Arrow, you’ve mastered the art of work-life balance!
The Burlington County Animal Shelter’s director says they’re trying to “better assess canines and their needs” like Bucci, who saw Arrow’s potential early on. Hopefully, this will reduce the number of failed adoptions in the future.
We’re overjoyed that Arrow found a forever home and was able to put his intelligence and enthusiasm to good use by protecting his neighborhood. You should be proud of your fellow bow-wows (especially the shelter dogs)!