Abington’s Sgt. Doyle and Bella Sharing Girl Power at Gwynedd Mercy Academy High school

Sergeant Doyle and Bella are quite the duo. For starters, they both were  “female firsts” in the Abington Police Department. Sgt. Doyle, was the first female canine police officer and Bella, was the first female canine. On Monday, they arrived at Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School’s auditorium filled with female students, to share their girl power.

Jennifer Doyle became an Abington police officer in 2005. Doyle and her faithful friend Bella, a Belgian Malinois, graduated from New Jersey State Police Canine Academy’s 9 month training program, back in 2013. Four years later, in February of 2017, Officer Jennifer Doyle was sworn in as Sergeant for the Abington Police Department.

Sgt. Doyle and Bella are not just your ordinary K9 team. Together they came in first place in the United States Police Canine Trials and Competition for Region 6, held in September, 2017. In addition, they also won first place in criminal apprehension, first in obedience and third place in agility.

There seems to be a popular demand for the faithful duo. Bella has her own Facebook Page now, to keep her fans up to date. They make about 30 appearances a year, all over Montgomery County. Bella is a dual purpose canine. Her skills are patrol and explosives. She is sent out before specific events to search/sniff for explosives. She is also very well trained in apprehension, in which the police dogs are sent out to search for either a suspect or someone possibly lost. She is able to sense when a human is a threat and she acts solely on command of her handler.

Yesterday at GMA High School, she performed a few of these skills for the students.  The students were impressed watching Bella display her obedience and then attack the human decoy, upon the command of the Sergeant. She seemed to love the applause from the girls, as she walked around doing her victory lap, afterwards.

You can watch the video of Bella’s performance at Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School here.

For more information about Sergeant Doyle and Bella you may contact the Abington Police Department.