OREM, Utah (ABC 4 News) - The Utah County Sheriff's office has a new recruit: a dog named Meatball. While the name may be a little funny, the dog is serious about fighting crime.
Meatball was unveiled to the public Wednesday at the Firehouse Subs in Orem. The restaurant and its customers donated the dog to the Utah County's Sheriff department. Something the department said they need, desperately.
Greg Sherwood, Meatball's handler, told ABC4 "Meatball will help us get the bad guys."
Along with his handler, Meatball has spent months and hundreds of hours training. And while he is young, Meatball is already showing strength in his crime fighting ability.
Matt Higley from Utah Sheriff's department explained why this dog was so necessary.
Higley said, "We have been short a dog for several years, there is a lot of money that goes into these dogs and money to go to getting a handler."
Not only do these dogs search for drugs, but they also stop the people deputies are chasing. The dog is able to go into a dangerous situation where no deputy wants to get themselves.
This is not the first donation Firehouse Subs has made in Utah, the restaurant's founder tells us his company has donated $63,000 to organizations right here in the Beehive State.
