When Arrow was surrendered to the Burlington County Animal Shelter in New Jersey early last year, a shelter attendant named Deb Bucci immediately saw the Belgian Malinois mix’s potential. She knew how special Arrow was from the get-go, so she began honing his skills every chance she got.
Unfortunately, despite her best efforts to make the two-year-old pup as adaptable as possible, he didn’t have much luck finding the perfect family right away. In fact, he stayed at the shelter for nearly eight months until Deb decided to make a last resort post on social media about Arrow’s story.
That was when Angela Connor came into the picture. Angela is the co-founder of Rescue 22 Foundation, a non-profit group that trains and provides rescued service dogs to disabled veterans. When she learned about Arrow, she already knew that he wouldn’t quite fit the role of a service canine.
But she still decided to come to the shelter and evaluate the Belgian Malinois. Just as she suspected, Arrow wasn’t cut for service dog training. However, his qualities were actually a good fit for another job: police work. Apparently, the pup was smart, confident, and had a strong desire to work for food and toys, making him the perfect dog for the role.
So together with Rescue 22 Foundation, Angela temporarily took in the Belgian Malinois last summer and worked with him for three months. Arrow immediately excelled in training, and by September, the Philadelphia Police K-9 Training Unit offered him a job and a home.
He was then placed with Kyle Heasley of the police department in Lower Southampton Township. Coincidentally, Arrow was the department’s first K-9 since the 1960s, so it was quite safe to say that he was warmly welcomed into the force.
The pup has since been working with Kyle full-time, and when off duty, he goes home with his partner to be a regular family dog. Watch Arrow in action here.
Courtesy of Bucks County District Attorney
