Paw Patrol: Manhattan PD Ready To Welcome K-9 Apollo

MANHATTAN, IL — Manhattan residents will soon see a new face in the Manhattan Police Department's force of officers, but they shouldn't be alarmed by the wet nose and maybe sometimes slobbery mouth of the new officer.

Apollo is a German shorthaired pointer, and he will become Manhattan PD's first K-9 officer in the history of the department once he finishes his training, according to Manhattan Police Chief Jeff Wold.

Apollo is currently working on his training in Pennsylvania with his human companion, Manhattan police officer Ryan Gulli, along with Manhattan PD Administrative Assistant Patricia Calderone, who is also an experienced K-9 trainer, Wold said.

Gulli and Apollo are spending the next five weeks training together and are expected to return the weekend before Halloween, Wold said.

"I'm just the human handler, and the dog is the celebrity," Gulli told Patch in June.

Gulli and the Manhattan PD were matched with Apollo in August and began training together this month, Gulli said.

Apollo's main duties will include "sniffing" narcotics and tracking people or objects; he is not what is referred to as a "bite dog," Gulli said. In the event of a missing person, Apollo will be able to help track the person, as well as be able to sniff out any hidden narcotics that may be coming through town.

"We have to do something to be tough on drugs, and this is our start," Gulli said.