Police Dogs Celebrate Graduation Day | Business

Many of us have been attending graduations these past few weeks. But in St. Louis, there is one school where, instead of caps and gowns, graduates wear fur coats. Friday was graduation day for class # 204 from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police K-9 School. this is a school for dogs whose bite is worse than their bark.

"You have that emotional bond with it but he is also your police partner, they are willing to do what they can to help you," Officer Dan DeSpain said.

His new partner is Titan, a German Shepherd dog whose specialty is searching for narcotics. Lacy the Labrador is assigned to officer Vince Kleinigger, and you may be seeing them around.

"I am going to be assigned to Metrolink, we ride the train back and forth and we just go on calls for any suspicious packages or anything we check the platform to make sure everything is all right," Kleinigger said.

The officers who train here come from near and far. Officer DeSpain is on the force in O'Fallon, Missouri. The reason is simple. St. Louis' Canine School was the first in the country and is considered one of the best in the country. One thing they have learned over the past 50 years is police dogs are police first, and dogs second.

"They are introducing this dog to their family life and they have to make sure when it is time to go to work it is time to go to work and they can't treat them like a pet," said Capt. Gwen Spicer, the head of the special operations for the department.

The St. Louis City Police Department currently has 11 dogs serving in its K-9 unit.