NEW BERN, N.C. (WNCT) — The New Bern Police Department has a new four-legged employee. Chase, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, joined one of the department’s five K9 teams.

Chase and his partner, identified in a press release as Officer Collins, started training together in October. By mid-November, the pair had completed training and certification by the International Police Work Dog Association. The two have already started working together in New Bern, and Collins is looking forward to introducing Chase to the community.

“Our team evaluated several dogs to potentially serve our community,” said Chief Patrick Gallagher. “Chase has the drive and energy we’re looking for and we thought he’d be a great partner to Officer Collins.”

K9 Chase is trained in narcotics detection, tracking, criminal apprehension, article recovery, and building and area searches.

Earlier this year, K9 Reno retired from the New Bern Police Department after seven years of service. Then, K9 Loki passed away suddenly due to a health-related issue, leaving the department two teams short within the K9 Unit. Thanks to a grant from the Firehouse Subs Safety Foundation, the department purchased K9 Storm in July. With the addition of K9 Chase, this specialized unit is back to normal staffing levels and ready to continue serving New Bern.

K9 Chase’s first day of work was Saturday, Nov. 19.