The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office says it's added new K-9 units to the department.

A sheriff's office spokesperson, Tyler Pruett, says the new K-9 program includes three narcotics dogs and two tracking dogs. He says two of the new narcotics dogs will be working full time, and the third narcotics dog will be used in DeKalb County and Fort Payne City Schools.

The K-9 that will work in the schools is a Labrador Retriever named River. Pruett says the other two narcotics dogs are a Dutch Shepherd named Switch and a Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix named Dolly. They will join narcotics K-9 Marianna, who was the lone dog in the department before new administration took office, according to Pruett.

The tracking dogs are Bloodhounds named Moses and Alex. They will be used in missing persons cases and manhunts for fugitives, Pruett says. He says Alex is named after 11-year-old Amberly Alexis Barnett, who was reported missing and then found murdered earlier this year. 

The sheriff’s office will have a dog named Ari from the McCreary K-9 Facility available for tracking, if needed.

According to Pruett, Fort Payne City Schools Superintendent Brian Cunningham and DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Jason Barnett contributed to the new K-9 units, along with Representative Nathaniel Ledbetter, Senator Steve Livingston and Probate Judge Ronnie Osborn.

Pruett says other businesses and organizations also contributed to make the new K-9 units possible, and Micah McCreary of McCreary K-9 Facility helped with the training and certifications.