Arlington Police Sergeant Gary Carter never expected to be cast into the international spotlight as he responded to a residential alarm on Thursday morning. As he arrived on scene and unrelated to the original alarm call, Sgt. Carter was advised by several citizens that a "pit bull" was following and chasing them around in an "aggressive" manner. One lady yelled, "This dog is so vicious, please get him," according to officers on scene. Patrol Officer Heather Gibson also arrived on scene to assist.

Sgt. Carter and Officer Gibson took the time to observe the animal's behavior and determine that the dog was not really aggressive at all and was simply thirsty and lost. Officer Gibson keeps a dog leash in her patrol bag which has come in handy on several occasions while awaiting Animal Services to arrive on a scene. The officers were able to coax the furry friend into the back of a patrol car with Officer Gibson's protein bar in an attempt to locate the owner. The dog was very friendly and no assumptions were made by the officers based upon the breed of the dog.

"This is exactly the type of compassion we love to see our employees exhibit and credit their good judgment and our significant investment that our organization has made in providing training to officers on how to deal with dogs," said Arlington Police Chief Will D. Johnson. In the 2012-2013 training cycle, the department instituted mandatory training for all officers that included video-based training in addition to a 4-hour block of classroom instruction. The goal of the training was to bolster our existing training protocols and assist officers in identifying the differences between aggressive and non-aggressive dogs and to continue our dialogue with officers regarding non-lethal options when handling animals. By being able to recognize dog behaviors, such as types of barking, the way a dog approaches, and other clues, the department is in a better position to respond to situations that involve dogs in homes or moving freely in neighborhoods. APD partnered with Arlington Animal Services to assist with training officers based upon their professional experience.

Some photographs surfaced yesterday after the encounter and were posted to APD's Facebook page. The number of responses were amazing and came in from around the world. As of Monday, June 30, the Facebook post has reached 11,743,232 people with 69,719 shares, 171,260 likes and has generated 17,564 comments.