This week’s Hometown Hero is of a special breed, and yes, we do mean dog breed.

Aron is a seven-year veteran of the Troy Police Department, serving in the K-9 unit.  He’s a seven-year-old German Shepard who is trained to detect bombs.

“Aron is an extremely smart dog; he clearly knows the difference between work and socialization,” the person who nominated Aron said.

His handler, Ptl. Robert Smith, has been working with him for the past several years.

As part of the “Hometown Heroes” series, we’ve partnered with County Waste and Latham Ford to celebrate local unsung heroes for their good deeds and honorable work.

We asked Smith a few questions about Aron. Here’s what he had to say:

Q: What’s the most rewarding thing about working with Aron?

A: Being able to help the community. Either by keeping them safe taking suspects off of the street and sweeping buildings for explosives or by interacting with them at various demonstrations, parades or calls for service, allowing the public to view my pet/partner.

Q: What are some challenges?

A: It is a 24-hour, on-call commitment that must be taken on by the handler. And when a K-9 is used, it is most generally an unsafe situation that the K-9 team is involved in. We must rely on constant training and other officers to keep us all safe!

Q: Do you consider Aron a “hero?” Why or why not?

A: I do believe he is. I believe all of the police K-9 teams are and especially the other two Troy Police K-9 teams. Without Officer Ashe and partner Elza and Officer Faby and partner Obie, Aron and I would not have the notoriety.

The Troy Police K-9 Unit, as a whole, has done a lot of good police work of late and it is only by training together and helping each other that each of our K-9 partners can be considered “heroes.” Our goal is to protect the community we serve and all of us have been able to do that safely.

To nominate our next “Hometown Hero,” click here.

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