Maggie was picked up as a stray when she was discovered roaming through an industrial center with an e-collar on her neck. She was brought to an animal shelter, but her owners never came to claim her, and in the following weeks she was consistently passed up by potential adopters. In order to make room for new arrivals, Maggie was placed on the euthanasia list—the clock was ticking, and she was running out of options. Thankfully, those who had gotten to know Maggie at the shelter had discovered her intense toy obsession, and SDF was contacted for an evaluation. Knowing there was no time to waste, SDF made the trip to the shelter and performed an evaluation, determining that Maggie indeed had working dog potential. As she and her rescuer headed back to the NTC, Maggie slept the entire way—she was finally safe. But her journey wasn’t over yet!
Maggie arrived at SDF’s campus, and once she had recovered from a respiratory infection, she began her formal training. Though this compact Malinois is small in stature, her trainers soon discovered that her personality is quite the opposite! Maggie is a spunky girl who loves to work and play, and she also has a sweet side and loves to receive affection. She’s quick to show her enthusiasm, and like many Malinois, she likes to spin around when she gets excited. Though her trainers were able to teach her how to alert without spinning, Maggie still showed signs of over-arousal during training, so it was decided that she would enter our Canine Placement Program while our team determined the best placement for her.
Though our program wasn’t a perfect fit for Maggie, she enjoyed key aspects of her training, and it was clear that she loved to work. We reached out to several of our career change partners, and before long, Maggie was on her way to Oregon to begin dual purpose law enforcement training with Perfect Pack Dog Training! There, her training was going well, until an x-ray uncovered a slight abnormality in her joints, making her ineligible to continue training with that organization. Upon hearing that Maggie was again looking for a job, she was quickly scooped up by Interquest Detection K9’s, and headed to Texas to begin detection and patrol training. However, there it became clear that she was better suited to single-purpose (detection only) work, and Maggie once again found herself looking for her perfect placement.
Once more, Maggie headed towards a new career prospect, this time with Sector K9. This time around, however, she had finally found where she was meant to be! Trainers at Sector K9 raved about Maggie, describing her as social and fun with an amazing temperament. In June 2023, after weeks of intensive training, Maggie was officially partnered with Officer Andrew Freude of the Bellville Police Department! We’re incredibly proud of Maggie, who now works alongside Officer Freude as a drug detection canine keeping their community safe, and we couldn’t be happier to see her thriving in her long-awaited dream job!
Click here to learn more about our Canine Placement Program!