Scottsdale PD Introduces Rocket, Its New Crisis Response K9

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Chaparral High School will soon be getting a new school resource officer, but this one is furrier than most.

Rocket, a 2-year-old golden retriever, is the Scottsdale Police Department's second crisis response K9 and Maricopa County's first to be assigned as a school resource officer, according to a news release.

Rocket and Officer Devon Lines will be stationed at Chaparral to provide comfort to victims, calm high-stress situations and bridge gaps with community members. The two will travel to other Scottsdale Unified School District schools as needed, the Scottsdale Police Department said.

“We’ve been working on placing a service dog at one of our high schools for about a year,” SUSD Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Dr. Milissa Sackos said in a statement. “Rocket is going to fit right in at Chaparral and open up important, new avenues of communication with our students.”

The Scottsdale Police Department received Rocket from Paws With A Cause, a Michigan-based organization that trains service dogs. About $34,000 in funding for the pup was raised by the Chaparral High School Association of Parents and Teachers and the Scottsdale Unified School District Foundation. The foundation hopes to expand the School Resource Unit canine program to other SUSD campuses.

The police department said many young peoples' first experiences with the police are with a school resource officer. Rocket will be available to help students experiencing behavioral health issues and help Officer Lines better connect with the kids.