How is this Hudson Valley Police K-9 Fighting Crime and Stereotypes?

The only police K-9 pit bull in the state comes from right here in the Hudson Valley. Meet, Kiah who’s fighting crime and stereotypes every day!

Click the video below to hear her amazing story, from being abandon and beaten, to a national sensation.

Kiah began working in the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department in 2015 as a narcotics and missing person’s detection dog. She and her partner, Justin Bruzgul, also visit local schools and conferences to highlight the importance of animal shelters and animal rescue.

Kiah arrived in New York after her previous owner was arrested for animal cruelty. The four-legged furry friend was found beaten and abandoned in a parking lot in Texas.

Kiah was rescued and trained by Universal K9, an organization from San Antonio, Texas that rescues dogs, trains them for police work and donates them to law enforcement agencies across the country.

Funding was provided by the Animal Farm Foundation, a non-profit animal rescue and advocacy group based in Amenia. The foundation hopes to end the stereotypes associated with pit bulls.

Kiah was donated to the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department by thanks to the partnership between Universal K9 and the Animal Farm Foundation.

On Nov. 17 Kiah will receive a national reward.