Shelby County Sheriff’s Office K-9 officer Ammo and his handler, Deputy Rufus Williams, work hard daily, doing their part to keep our county safe and free of drugs and crime.

Through intensive training, Ammo and Williams built a bond that will, hopefully, last years. When suspects are caught, Ammo’s nose can serve as the sheriff’s department’s best asset.

Depending on weather conditions and the location of hidden narcotics, Ammo can typically find narcotics within three to five minutes.

Ammo isn’t only helping to rid our streets of drugs — he’s also helping keep crime down. The more illegal drugs on our streets, the higher the crime rate will be.

All of Shelby County’s K-9 officers work for the betterment of our county, and we appreciate every one of them.

Like other K-9 teams, Williams and Ammo also perform a valuable service for the community by visiting schools and career days. This helps school children to become comfortable with our county’s law enforcement and more likely to trust law enforcement in times of need.

Anything that can help build the bonds between Shelby County’s communities and our largest law enforcement entity will only help make our county citizens safer.

Who knows? Like Williams’ son, Nicholas, some of today’s students may have dreams of being tomorrow’s K-9 handlers for Shelby County and working to keep our county headed towards a bright future.

The We Say is the opinion of the Shelby County Reporter editorial board.