Calhoun County has countrys first four legged School Resource Officer

 Deputy QT

Calhoun County's newest school resource officer has four legs.

At news conference in Alexandria on Thursday, QT, a three-year-old black Labrador retriever, was introduced by officials as the area's, and possibly the country's, first-ever canine SRO.  While it's not unusual for police dogs to enter schools as part of searches, QT will be permanently assigned to the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office SRO division.  He is expected to be sworn in and given a badge on Friday, after graduating from the Auburn University canine school at McClellan.  Eric Patterson is a deputy and school resource officer assigned to the elementary and high schools in Alexandria. He is also now the dog's permanent handler and will take him to Calhoun County's other schools as requested or needed.

Patterson said QT is heavily trained in scent tracking and can detect drugs and even firearms.