A dog with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office K9 unit was named top dog on Monday during the Texas Narcotic Officer Association’s K9 Competition.

The annual event was held in Brownsville with 45 K9 officers and their handlers from local, state and federal agencies.

This year’s event was the first one to include departments from Mexico as part of the competition.

“It's just a friendly competition. If anything, you observe what other people do and how we can use this to make ourselves better and become better as a team,” Brownsville police K9 handler Erik Balboa said.

Judges looked at several factors when deciding the winner.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council helped organize the event at the Brownsville Events Center.

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