One often forgotten department of the Shelby County Sheriff's Office is its Canine Unit. Shelby County Sheriff Don Koonce and Undersheriff Rob McCall said the Canine Unit is helpful in many circumstances, where these furry officers can help cool down situations with their presence and also help find drugs using their acute sense of smell. McCall said, however, these dogs are well trained to do much more than what most would think.

McCall said finding dogs suitable for the canine unit isn't easy. They can be expensive to purchase, and often times the Shelby County Sheriff's Office will go to the local kennel to see if there might be a dog available that would suit the Canine Unit.

McCall said it can take between 12-24 months to truly know if a dog is right and usable within a canine unit, and sometimes those can fail later on in their career.

Sheriff Koonce and Undersheriff McCall appeared on the NEWSTALK WTIM Morning Show live from our Shelbyville Studios.