It’s hard to look adorable in a yearbook photo, but K9 officer Detective Gibbs makes it look easy. In a recent photo shoot for the Camp Hill School District in Pennsylvania, Gibbs gives a dignified gaze at the camera and shows what a good boy he is.
The 2-year-old golden retriever was chosen to appear in the school district’s yearbooks after students clamored for his inclusion. Gibbs is a frequent and much-anticipated guest at Camp Hill schools, as he accompanies School Resource Officer Joe Capers on his duties.
Although many K9 officers perform police work like sniffing for drugs or explosives, Gibbs doesn’t have any specific police duties other than just showing up and giving love to the community.
“He’s a beautiful golden retriever who is a fury officer friendly who helps to humanize police,” Chief of Police Stephen Margeson tells Newsweek about Gibbs’s role in the Camp Hill community. “He is not a police work dog (no drug sniffs, no patrol dog work), just community engagement with Officer Capers.”
While community engagement dogs like Gibbs are increasing in demand at police stations across the country, funding for these dogs and their extensive training can be costly. The American Kennel Club hosts an annual Reunite Adopt a K-9 Cop Matching Grant to help support police stations that are trying to raise money for a K9 officer. You canclick hereto donate if your area is working towards their own K9 officer with AKC.
As special as Gibbs is, this isn’t the first time that a dog has appeared in a school yearbook.
In 2019, a Belgian Malinois named Mya posed for a yearbook photo at Arkansas’s Bryant High School.
Service dogs have also appeared in school yearbooks. Soldier, a Golden Retriever service dog, appeared alongside his owner Kathryn Campbell in the Timber Creek High School yearbook in Texas.
And school therapy dog Meg gave a beautiful smile as she posed for her yearbook photo at Goshen Middle School in Ohio. Meg even has her own Instagram page!
Research has shown that dogs in schools are more than just an adorable addition to yearbooks. Dogs in the classroom have been shown to improve literacy, reduce stress and promote many other emotional and psychological benefits.
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