3rd graders at Irving Dual Language Elementary meet K9 hero
Some people don’t want to come face-to-face with a police dog. But 3rd graders at Irving Dual Language Elementary School had a very friendly visit with one of them on Thursday.
Zeus and Officer Mike Sitzman gave students a demonstration on K-9 tactics and answered questions about their role at the police department. Sioux City has four K-9 units and each dog can cost close to $30,000.
These demonstrations educate kids about the job they do and what to do when you see a K9 unit in person.
“Kids and people get a misunderstanding of what our dogs do,” said Sioux City Police Officer Mike Sitzman. “They think our dogs just go and bite people, and that they’re vicious dogs. we want them to understand these are friendly, social dogs. They love being around people. They love doing these demonstrations for kids and for different groups, so that’s why we like to come out here and show them that our dogs really are friendly and they have a good purpose to serve the people of Sioux City.”
Zeus has been training with Sioux City Police since he was 13 months old. He’ll be nine in March.