During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Farmington Police Officer Angela Prince tried a mask on her dog, Baxter, who wore it patiently. Baxter has since become a s0rt of celebrity of the Farmington Police Department, helping introduce the next cadet class, solve cases, and otherwise helping spread the word on the department's work. This story is sponsored by Three Rivers Brewery and Distill Beer Wine Spirits
What kind of dog comes to mind when you think about police dogs? Perhaps a German Shepherd or a Belgian Malinois or even a Labrador Retriever. At the Farmington Police Department, a different kind of K9 is on patrol. Baxter, a rescue and his handler, Officer Angela Prince, are using Baxter's pandemic-fueled popularity to help the public learn more about Farmington Police Department. You're watching the Local News Network, brought to you by Three Rivers Brewery and Distil Beer Wine Spirits. I'm Wendy Graham Settle.
So actually, I was approached by the chief's wife, Janet Hebbe who had seen him with a mask on, 'cause he'll wear a mask and had seen him with a mask on during the pandemic and thought it would be cute to take some photos of him. From there, it just kind of snowballed and he... Started doing little video shoots and so forth to show the different divisions within the department, kind of a lighter side of the Farmington Police Department which was really neat.
Baxter and Prince crossed paths at one of Farmington's public parks, when Prince and her partner quite literally rescued Baxter, who had been spotted living at the park for a couple of weeks. They brought him to a groomer to get cleaned up and once it was clear no one was coming forward to claim Baxter, Prince took him home for good. Baxter's work for the police department has extended beyond encouraging mask-wearing during the pandemic. He's visited the police academy, worked with the SWAT team and even helped to solve a case.
He has been out to our communications center, the dispatch and got to see what they do and a lot of computers. It wasn't as much fun as the academy for him, but he had fun there. We also have, goodness, he's run... Traffic using a radar, using a laser. He has also apprehended a suspect down at our downtown little park, Orchard Park and was able to jump out of a patrol car and took pursuit and apprehended him, handcuffed him, save the day.
Baxter's time hasn't been all about the glory though. He once received a three-day suspension for eating Police Chief Steve Hebbe's donuts. The transgression documented on social media for all to see.
During the pandemic, there's a lot of just a negative side to the world, was down and depressed at home. Not a lot of fun stuff happening media-wise and that's where our public information officer Nicole Brown came on board and decided to kind of get him involved, kind of came in, involved in taking some photos and taking him around and he started visiting different areas within the department and helping out.
Keep an eye out for Baxter and Prince on a bike or on the road this summer and keep up with Baxter's exploits on Farmington Police Department's Facebook page. Search for #BaxterOnPatrol. Thanks for watching this edition of the Local News Network, I'm Wendy Graham Settle.
