Two of North Augusta’s newest public safety officers are on the job and already making a difference.
On Friday, River, an 18-month-old Labrador retriever, and Raven, a German Shepherd who is between 13 and 15 months old, were formally introduced, and with their handlers, Officer Jason Cunningham and Officer Ryan Dabbs, they showed off their drug sniffing skills at the North Augusta Department of Public Safety headquarters, finding planted controlled substances such as cocaine and heroin.
“She loves to work,” said Dabbs of Raven. “She has a lot of personality. She’s very loving. She’s sweet.”
Both dogs easily found the three hidden substances, receiving treats from their handlers for a job well done.
The two K-9 officers started in early April and have already gone into action. Not only can they sniff out the presence of narcotics, but they are skilled at finding people – whether they are suspects in a crime or missing persons.
With the help of the North Augusta Public Safety Foundation, the public safety office acquired the two animals plus sent the two officers two train with the animals for nearly two months in Forsythe, Georgia.
This is the second time Cunningham has been a K-9 handler. He also worked with a Belgian Malinois with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Department about 20 years ago, but this was the first time he’d gone with training along with the animal.
“River and I had to go together. It was a different experience,” he said. The other dog had already been trained when he worked with it.
Like her counterpart, River loves the job, Cunningham said.
“River is high energy. As soon as she goes in a room, she knows her job. As you could see when she came in, she was pulling me. She started wanting to search. Every day for eight weeks that’s literally what we did,” he said.
The two dogs have a lot of puppy energy. When not working, River loves a tennis ball, and Raven enjoys chasing her tail and playing with Dabbs.
The training doesn’t stop even though they’ve graduated the academy.
The other K-9 handlers in the agency train together each week, and the officers train individually with the dogs on a daily basis.
The two dogs are missing one thing – a badge. The foundation is accepting funds to purchase their badges. Go here for more information.
In January, Lucia, a German shepherd K-9 officer, retired after more than nine years on the job.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named Augusta Magazine’s best local writer in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
