Bella trained for tracking, narcotics searches

On Friday, the Ironton Police Department swore in its newest officer, Bella, a German Shorthaired Pointer.

She sat patiently as Ironton Mayor Sam Cramblit read the oath of office to her and then signed the oath with a paw print.

Her handler, Patrolman Brian Jordan, and Bella completed their courses at Southern Ohio Canine Training just hours before the swearing in. They had spent every minute of the past five weeks together.

Jordan, who has been with the department for three years, said he didn’t originally intend to be partnered with a canine.

“I love going out and looking for narcotics and cleaning up the streets,” he said. “However, I do like dogs and adding her as a tool to my belt and riding around with my friend all day is a win for me. There are times we can’t get into cars, but she is so good at her job, it is going to be almost impossible to hide it from her.”

While waiting for the swearing in to start, Bella checked out everyone who came to watch.

“I reward her after she finds her first batch of narcotics,” Jordan said, with her reward being a tennis ball. “So, she will try to hunt down a second batch while she still has her ball in her mouth. She is constantly wanting to work.”

The pair will be involved in traffic stops and working at schools.

Now that she is an officer, Bella’s duties will include tracking suspects and hunting for illegal drugs.

“She is trained for all narcotics, except marijuana.

Marijuana is the reason that the IPD needed a new canine.

“We are happy to have another canine on the force,” Cramblit said, explaining that after the vote to legalize marijuana in Ohio passed, all dogs that had been trained to search for illegal drugs including cannabis were retired due to probable cause issues. “So, we are happy to have a canine officer with our unit to continue to protect Ironton from harmful drugs.