Maryland K-9 Officer Rescued from Behind Bars

A Maryland State Police K-9 officer was recently featured in a national publication geared toward animal lovers to encourage people to adopt rescue dogs.

Approximately 1.2 million dogs are adopted annually from shelters and 1.4 million are euthanized, according to the ASPCA, which reported most people get their pets from breeders or family members.

While checking out the Maryland SPCA in summer 2011, Corporal Jonathan Novack spotted Moose, a black lab who was bouncing a tennis ball against the wall of his kennel to entertain himself, the officer told Whole Dog Journal.

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"The moment I saw him, I knew he was going to be my best friend," Novack said in an interview with the Frederick News-Post. He adopted the lab, and the two have been joined ever since. "I can't even get in the shower without him being right outside the shower. If you find me, you'll find him."
After undergoing a 17-week training to hone Moose's natural abilities of searching and retrieving, Novack and his new partner hit the road in June 2011 at the JFK Memorial Highway Barrack, according to the Journal.

The JFK barrack patrols a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 95 spanning Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties.

Moose earned accolades for his skills immediately, according to the Journal, which reported he was named "Trooper of the Month" in June 2011.

Novack was awarded recently for making 59 arrests of drunk/drugged drivers in 2013—the most of this type of arrest for any Harford County officer—according to the Harford County State's Attorney's Office. Novack was also named the JFK Barrack's Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year, according to Maryland State Police.

Novack said that he and his partner are a team, and earned the awards together. None of it would have been possible had he not taken a look one day inside the Maryland SPCA in Baltimore.

“Saving one dog will not change the world," Novak told Whole Dog Journal, "but surely for that one dog, the world will change forever."