Police Dog Praised For Locating Missing 3-Year-Old In Just 10 Minutes

Shelby County Sheriff's Office, Ohio, published a photo of the hound with a story explaining how the dog had managed to track down and locate a young child mere minutes after the child having gone missing.

The story was quickly picked up by news outlets and shared across social media.

Alongside the post, the sheriff's office detailed the dog's actions which led to the rescue of a 3-year-old:

"At 12:47 today we were dispatched to 15045 Sidney Plattsville Rd., on a missing 3 year old. Deputy Bleigh and K-9 Bandit started the search at the front of the house and within 10 minutes Bandit had located the child."

The sheriff's office went on to write:

"This is exactly why we have dog units, watching this track you could tell very well that Bandit had the scent of the child and was well on his way to finding him. I would like to thank Frank and Bandit for a job well done and it was so amazing to watch this unfold."

Although the grateful family have not been identified, the officer who was working with Bandit explained to Fox News that Bandit had managed to track the 3-year-old down to a location about a quarter of a mile from their home once the dog had picked up the scent.

The post has also been shared over 2,000 times by grateful members of the public and dog lovers alike.

The comments were quickly flooded with people offering their thanks to both Bandit and Deputy Bleigh for their sterling work in helping to reunite the family.

Other praise came in the forms of:

"Been a canine unit supervisor for many years, they a great law enforcement tool as are the dedicated handlers, great job, great example, thanks brother."

"You earned a steak dinner today Bandit! Awesome Job!"

German Shepherds are chosen due to their high levels of intelligence and ability to be trained to perform complex tasks, according to the American Kennel Club.

The AKC also goes on to explain, "For hundreds of years, herding breeds have been bred to have the physical strength and intelligence needed to work with their owners to herd livestock — qualities they also need to restrain a dangerous person."

Other popular police dog breeds include, Belgian Malinois, Bloodhounds, Dutch Shepherds, and Labrador Retrievers.

Thankfully, departments usually wait until the dog officers are a little older than the ones pictures above — although these two little puppers would be quite useful at subduing a criminal by use of extreme cuteness.

Police dogs are not only used for tracking missing people and apprehending dangerous criminals, but they can also be used to detecting drugs, bombs, and other crime scene evidence. K-9 units are also commonly used when locating victims of disasters by digging through rubble to try and find survivors. There have even been reports of dogs locating bodies of victims submerged in bodies of water.

K-9 units are an invaluable member of law enforcement, and so it's great to see one of these wonderful units getting the recognition they deserve for their wonderful work.

Hopefully, Bandit will get an extra treat or two tonight for this exceptional job!

h/t: Fox