Gus had been raised since puppyhood in a loving home, however, as is the case with many of our dogs, his abundance of energy soon became overwhelming for his family. Despite efforts to keep Gus busy with hikes, camping, and endless ball play, it wasn’t enough. Gus was seemingly insatiable, and eventually, his family had to admit that they couldn’t keep up. In the hopes of finding a placement for their rowdy boy where he’d have an outlet for his boundless energy, they made the tough decision to put him up for adoption. An SDF recruiter, upon seeing the adoption ad, reached out to the family, and they agreed to give him a chance at a working dog career.
Gus hopped aboard the Four-Legged Kids Bus and made his way to SDF’s campus, where we conducted a formal performance screening. This evaluation is designed to test dogs for certain key characteristics that we look for in potential candidates to determine whether our search program is a good fit for them. Though Gus demonstrated several of these qualities—such as his stellar hunt drive—our team determined that he would likely be more successful in an alternative detection career due to tactile concerns while testing on the rubble pile.
SDF reached out to our career change partners at Scenturion K9, and upon accepting Gus into their program, he was transported to their facility to begin his new career! In June 2023, after several months of detection training, Gus was officially paired with Officer John Mory of the Fontana School Police Department and got right to work training with his new partner for the upcoming school year. Gus is now a certified narcotics and firearms detection K9, working alongside Officer Mory to protect the students and staff at the Fontana Unified School District against dangerous drugs and weapons. We’re so happy to see Gus thriving in his new career, and we couldn’t be more proud of the important work Gus is doing to keep his community safe!
Click here to learn more about our Canine Placement Program!