A future Statesboro Police Department K-9 successfully completed his first track last Thursday.

Smokey the K-9, at only 7 months old, was able to track a suspect who fled from officers on foot in Bryan County.

According to a post by the SPD on Facebook, Smokey was deployed in a highly contaminated area yet picked up the scent of the subject immediately and was able to follow it to a camper with the individual inside. This was Smokey’s first real-world track.

Following the incident on Thursday, Smokey was also able to help Georgia State Patrol track a suspected stolen vehicle, Smokey’s trainer Michael Duncan said.

Smokey and Duncan have completed controlled, simulated tracks in the past as part of his training to join the police force.

Duncan has owned Smokey since he was born and has been training dogs for a few years now. Smokey was one of the youngest dogs to ever pass his level one certification for the state of Georgia at only five months old.

After officially joining the SPD, Smokey can be deployed to other areas that need his help. It is anticipated that Smokey will be released to the police department as a member of the K-9 force in August, Madison Bridges-Warren, community information specialist for SPD, said.

For more information on Smokey, click here.

Savannah Johnson, The George-Anne Candidate, ganewsed@georgiasouthern.edu