Clay Township police welcome Leonard, the first- ever pit bull K-9

GENOA — With his blocky head, wrinkly face, and droopy jowls, K-9 Leonard doesn’t look like a normal police dog. And he’s not.

Leonard is the first pit bull to be certified for police work in Ohio. On Saturday, he went to work for the Clay Township Police Department in Ottawa County in northeast Ohio as the township’s first K-9 officer.

The 2-year-old dog, who was deemed unadoptable at a shelter, is trained to sniff out drugs and will work all day for his reward — a grubby piece of fire hose.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better dog,” said Police Chief Terry Mitchell, Leonard’s handler.

Leonard arrived at the Union County Humane Society as a stray in November. Director Jim Alloway said the dog was a “problem child” and unadoptable because of the very behavior that launched his new career in police work.

“He just had a very, very high ‘prey drive’ or possessiveness drive,” Alloway said. Any time Leonard saw someone holding something, he instantly wanted it — no matter what it was — and would try to take it.

“For the average home, that’s a big problem,” Alloway said. “But it’s great for law enforcement.”

Leonard spent the past months with Storm Dog Tactical in Sunbury. The business trains rescued dogs and provides them to police departments for the cost of equipment and officer training. Chief Mitchell said Leonard cost about $4,000, compared with $10,000 or more for traditional police dogs.

“I spent about 10 minutes with him and knew this was the dog for us,” he said.

He said the first thing he did was educate himself about pit bulls, which are seen by many as inherently vicious. But the chief said what he learned is similar to what police officers must remember every day.

“If somebody robs a bank, we don’t just go find out what nationality they are and round up all the rest and assume there will be no more bank robberies,” he said. “It just can’t happen that way. It’s the individual, and it’s the same with dogs.”

Leonard wasn’t trained to track and catch suspects. He simply adores people too much for that kind of work. Instead, he will be a regular visitor at Genoa schools.

“He’s extremely sweet, extremely affectionate,” Alloway said. “And he loves belly rubs.”