Police Dog Hangs Onto Officer for Dear Life in Adorable Photo
The story behind the photo of Niko the service dog.
— -- An adorable photo of a police dog hanging onto an officer for dear life is creating Internet buzz after being shared by the Vancouver Police's Canine Unit in Canada.
"As for the photo going viral, we were pleasantly surprised," Sandra Glendinning of the Vancouver Police Department told ABC News.
"Our four-legged officers are a very valuable part of our police department and they are well selected, well trained, and, most importantly, well loved by their handlers. It is fantastic that people get an opportunity to witness something they otherwise may not have known even existed."
The photo, Glendinning said, was snapped in October during a training scenario between Constable Dan Ames of the VPD Canine Unit and police service dog, Niko -- a five-and-a-half-year-old purebred German shepherd.
The exercise was called "rappelling," where Ames worked with Niko to slowly introduce the pup to descending vertically, according to Glendinning.
"This photo is of his first high rappel of five stories and he has since mastered the task," she added.
The Vancouver Police Department posted the picture on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram of Ames rappelling down a wall with Niko clenched onto his right leg.
Dog lovers quickly shared the image on all three platforms.
"It is wonderful that people get to see not only some of the training our police dogs go through, but the bond between handler and dog," Glendinning said. "There is a certain amount of trust going on between Cst. Ames and PSD Niko, and we believe that is what people are responding to."
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