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The dog behind this story is Kiah, a rescued pit bull who joined New York’s City of Poughkeepsie Police Department in July 2015 and worked with Officer Justin Bruzgul. The ASPCA’s 2016 account says she was found injured and abandoned in a San Antonio parking lot—not chained in snow. That snow-and-chain scene appears in a 2022 iHeartDogs retelling, but is not corroborated by the contemporaneous ASPCA and CBS accounts.
Who was the pit bull in the story?
Her name was Kiah. After being rescued in San Antonio, Texas, she was trained for police work and placed with Officer Justin Bruzgul at the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department in New York. The ASPCA described her as New York State’s first pit bull police dog.
The title’s wording comes from a 2022 iHeartDogs story, which describes Kiah chained in snow and crying for help. The ASPCA’s 2016 award announcement instead says she was found injured and abandoned in a parking lot. CBS News reported that she was found at a Texas shelter after her previous owner was arrested for animal cruelty. Those earlier accounts do not verify the snow-and-chain details.
How did Kiah become a police dog?
Rescue and training
The ASPCA says Kirby Animal Care Services rescued Kiah in San Antonio in January 2015. She trained through a program associated with Universal K9 and Animal Farm Foundation. According to the ASPCA’s 2016 announcement, she earned recognition after one month of training.
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Joining the Poughkeepsie department
Kiah joined the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department in July 2015. She worked in narcotics detection and tracking missing people alongside Bruzgul. The ASPCA also said the pair visited schools and conferences to talk about animal shelters and rescue.
Why was Kiah recognized?
In 2016, the ASPCA gave Kiah its Public Service Award. The award recognized her police work and the public outreach she did with Bruzgul. The announcement framed the honor as recognition of animals and people whose work serves their communities.
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What Kiah’s story says—and does not say—about pit bulls
Kiah’s work is an example of one rescued dog entering police service; it is not evidence that every pit bull, or any breed as a whole, is suited to police work. In a 2016 CBS News report, Bruzgul described the qualities he valued in a working dog: willingness to work, energy, scent ability, and engagement with the handler. Those are his observations, not a controlled comparison of breeds.
CBS also reported that trainer Brad Croft, working with Animal Farm Foundation, had helped place 20 pit bulls in police departments across the country by 2016. That was a figure about Croft’s work reported at the time, not a current or independently audited total.
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What is known about Kiah’s later status?
The cited accounts establish Kiah’s rescue, police work, and 2016 award, but they do not establish her current status. It would be inaccurate to infer from those historical reports that she is still working or to claim a later outcome without a more recent source.
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