The Escondido police will be welcoming one new detective this week…a little furrier than the rest of its colleagues.
Jena, an eight-year-old German Shepherd born in Czech Republic, was the first K9 to become a detective in the department’s history.
She joined the police department in 2010 and has worked as a Patrol K9 her entire career. Jena searched for suspects and evidence such as narcotics, assisting officers in apprehending violent offenders and providing demonstrations to community members.
As a Patrol K9, she worked to find drugs on suspects or in vehicles. She located those drugs or suspects 88 times and was used more than 1,000 times in her time as a Patrol K9.
Jena was promoted so detectives could use her skills to assist detectives with narcotic interdiction.
Police said she would also not be subject to the physical demands of a patrol service dog.
