Meet Pierce County’s new bomb dog: Smokey

TACOMA, Wash. — The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department has a new four-legged colleague that loves fun, but also hard work, and is highly skilled.

K-9 Smokey is the department’s new bomb dog.

His duties will include sniffing out possible trouble in unattended packages and bags, doing bomb sweeps, and finding evidence.

Born in Columbia in March 2023, the Belgian Malinois was chosen for this job because of his level of independence, temperament, ability to work in a variety of environments, and his high motivation to search.

During his 400-hour explosive detection course, he learned how to identify seven types of explosives. His training also exposed him to many work settings such as trains, boats, city streets, bags, vehicles, open areas, and buildings.

When he’s not working, Smokey loves playing with tug and chew toys, but according to the sheriff’s department, most of all, he loves his handler, Deputy Roland.

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