Southlake recently gave a warm welcome to its newest K-9 officer.
After Duco retired last year, the Southlake Police Department needed a new K-9 to go out into the field with officer Nate Anderson. By the end of 2022, the city ended up recruiting Zeusz, a 2-year-old German shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix who was born in Hungary.
“This is a 2-and-a-half-year-old dog, and it's like having a teenager and a toddler mixed into a body with four legs,” assistant police chief Ashleigh Casey says during last month's city council meeting. “Part of that is getting to know the dog and how they respond, and also getting through the power struggles that will inevitably happen when you have a dog that thinks he is in charge.”
Officer Anderson spent seven weeks training with Zeusz and forming a connection with him. By the time he completed training, Zeusz was ready for tracking, searching and detecting illegal substances.
“Within his short career, he has already apprehended two felons and assisted with numerous neighboring agencies’ investigations,” officer Anderson says. “He’s also deployed with the North Tarrant Regional SWAT team as one of its newest members.”