K-9 name honors cop

HE’S ONE OF New York’s Finest — and furriest.

Newly inducted K-9 officer Tuz, named for slain NYPD Officer Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo, took a Friday victory lap at Floyd Bennett Field after taking the name of the cop killed in the line of duty in November 2016.

Tuozzolo’s widow, Lisa, and their two children, Joseph, 4, and Austin, 5, were on hand to welcome Tuz (inset) to the NYPD — and give him a pat on the head for good luck.

“Thank you @NYPDSpecialops for this beautiful tribute to my husband & his sacrifice” Lisa Tuozzolo tweeted Friday.

Tuz is one of a dozen newly inducted members into the NYPD Emergency Service Unit’s K-9 team. The K-9 graduates include 10 German Malinois mixes, two Labrador retrievers, and one bloodhound.

The dogs and their handlers will look for missing persons, hunt down suspects and detect evidence and explosives.

Following NYPD tradition, each furry Finest member was given a new name after graduation honoring a fallen officer, including Detective Steven McDonald, who won New Yorkers’ hearts with his resiliency and kindness after he was left paralyzed from a shooting in 1986, and Detective Joseph Lemm, who died while serving in the Air National Guard in Afghanistan.

Other grads were named after Detective Louis Fernandez, who died of 9/11-related cancer, and Officer Moira Smith, who perished on 9/11.

“Each time a handler answers that question, ‘What’s your dog’s name?’ they have another chance to tell a unique story about sacrifice, courage, and service,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill said. “This is why their names are so important, because these are stories we must never stop telling.”