Many people are afraid of police dogs because they’re usually large working breeds like German shepherds and Malinois. These fierce K-9 officers are capable of moving at incredible speeds, sniffing out bombs, drugs, and other contraband, and will attack on command.
That’s why when the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety decided to add a new K-9 to their unit, they opted for a breed that’s a little more approachable.
Raider is a 35-pound miniature black lab who looks just as sweet as your average house pet, but she’s still highly trained in drug detection. She joined the Alpharetta, Georgia police force as a Community Service Youth Drug Prevention K-9, so she spends a lot of time at the local high school working with Alpharetta Department of Public Safety Officer Phillip Ritchey.
Officer Ritchey has been on the force for 12 years. Raider is his first K-9 partner, and their adorable friendship is already bridging the gap between law enforcement and their community. These two partners spend every waking moment together, and Officer Ritchey has gotten pretty savvy about sharing their funny video adventures on Instagram and TikTok.
More than 386,000 people have followed Officer Ritchey and Raider on TikTok! Officer Ritchey keeps things positive and fun on their social media pages, joking about cops loving donuts and sometimes showing off videos of Raider’s impressive drug-sniffing skills.
The social media pages are just another way for Officer Ritchey to reach out to youth in their community. He says he and his department selected Raider specifically because she looks like a puppy, so teens at the high school are not as afraid to approach her. Now that she’s also a TikTok star she’s practically a celebrity in school!
“I have been working with the high school for about six years and Raider has significantly increased student contacts with me,” said Officer Ritchey.
While most police dogs are kept away from the public, even wearing a vest asking people not to touch or engage with them while they’re working, Raider is open to any and all community engagement.
“Raider is exposed to the community more than our current K9’s because that is her job, meet people,”said her handler. “She attracts people to pet her and that leads to a self-initiated conversation between the police officer and the citizen. This conversation is a positive contact with a police officer and we need those as often as possible.”
It’s easy to see why these two partners have gained so many followers online. Their videos are funny, friendly, and just plain adorable!
Watch a cute compilation of Officer Ritchey and Raider in action below, and don’t forget to share.
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