Maricopa Police Department this morning officially welcomed its newest four-legged team member, K9 Rico, expanding the city’s Paw Patrol to two active service dogs for the first time.

Rico, a Dutch Shepherd mix a little over a year old, joins veteran K9 Karma in helping keep Maricopa one of Arizona’s safest cities . While Karma is trained as a dual-purpose dog in both suspect apprehension and narcotics detection , Rico’s specialty is drug detection. He recently completed his narcotics-detection certification and has already begun accompanying officers on patrol.

Rico is partnered with Officer René Ordoñez , a veteran MPD officer who stepped up to take on the demanding, full-time role of K9 handler. The job means Rico now lives with Ordoñez and his family, with daily training, c

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