Pit bull proves a powerful tool for Poughkeepsie police

K9 Kiah in a bulletproof vest. (Poughkeepsie Police Facebook)

When Brad Croft was introduced to a group of abandoned shelter dogs in Kirby, Texas, one pup in particular caught his eye.

A sheepish, but strong-looking pit bull named Kiah was in the corner, recovering from a brutal injury to her skull. He was told the abused dog was hit in the head with a hammer shortly before she arrived at the shelter.

"From what I saw, I just couldn't believe that she survived it, but she did," Croft said.

It was truly miraculous, Croft described. Even more miraculous, the dog didn't seem to hold a grudge.

That's when Croft, operations director for Universal K9, an organization that trains dogs as well as members of police and SWAT teams to become a successful K-9 Unit without the high costs, decided to take the dog home to San Antonio to see if she could make it as a police dog.

At first, Kiah was hard to train. She didn't understand what she was supposed to do. But soon it was clear to Croft: she was a fast learner.

By the end of an eight-week training period, the "gifted" dog was ready to work.

"If we were to have some kind of contest, she would outwork (the other dogs) all days of the week," a confident Croft said. "This dog is crazy good."

The Poukeepsie (New York) Police Department reached out to Croft in hopes of finding the perfect K9 officer. Lucky for them, they found Kiah.

Now, nearly two years later, Kiah works alongside her partner, Officer Justin Bruzgul, as a narcotics and missing persons detection dog.

And the 85-pound dog is set to receive the ASPCA Public Service Award in New York City on Thursday as the first pit bull police dog in the state of New York.