Bo has been saving lives, reuniting families, and solving crimes for most of his young life as a K-9 officer with the Gastonia, North Carolina police department.
Together with partner Sgt. David Rowland, the gentle giant uses his powerful nose to track down missing people, including children and seniors—and offering them comfort and sloppy kisses, once they’re found.
The pooch competed against hundreds of canines from across the the U.S. in the 14th annual contest that searches for and recognizes America’s standout dogs in five categories: Therapy Dogs; Service and Guide Dogs; Military Dogs; Law Enforcement and First Responder Dogs; and Shelter Dogs.
Beginning in June, Americans nominated hundreds of inspiring dogs nationwide and five semi-finalists in each of the five categories were chosen to go nose-to-nose in a public voting process, during which the 25 were narrowed down to five finalists—with the winner picked by a blue-ribbon panel of judges.
In his time with the police department Bo has located an elderly dementia patient and an 11-year-old autistic child who had gone missing.
He also tracked down robbery suspects—despite heavy scent contamination—leading to their capture.