After 25 years of working in the police field, Sgt. Paul Tarvin met and started working with K9 police dog, Mya, in June of 2018. This is his first year working with a K9. They finished training the week before school started.

“She is trained to search out [narcotics], tracking and article recovery,” Tarvin said.

The police department had a hard time finding a dog that was trained only in patrol work and not in pursuit.

 “We wanted a dog with the right temperament for the school,” Tarvin said.
According to Tarvin, Mya has had a positive impact on the school so far.

“I know the number of complaints that we have received about smelling drugs on campus is way down,” Tarvin said. “Most everybody seems to like that she is here.”

Mya has also had a positive impact on Tarvin.

“I enjoy her,” Tarvin said. “She is my partner and buddy, and we spend a lot of time together.”

After a long process of trying to find a dog trained only in narcotics detection, Tarvin received a call from Blue Streak K9 in Jonesboro stating that Mya was available for Tarvin to pick up.

“It was obvious from the time we met her that she was the one were looking for,” Tarvin said.

Principal Dr. Todd Edwards says that it is common now for high schools to have K9s.

“Research has shown that drug dogs like Mya are a deterrent, meaning that if a student is considering [bringing] drugs on campus, and they know Mya is here, they are most likely not [going] to [bring] it,” Edwards said.

Edwards also believes Mya is bringing the school resource officers and the students closer together.

“Students will approach the SROs,” Edwards said. “They wouldn’t necessarily do that before.”

Psychology teacher John Watson says that the smell of substance abuse in buildings eight and two have minimized.

“Mya has had a huge impact [on the school],” Watson said. “Because of her, there are a lot less drugs on campus. If you bring [drugs to school], she is going to smell it, so just don’t bring it here.”

Watson also enjoys having Mya around because of Mya’s great personality.

“She is just bubbly,” Watson said. “That is the most lovable dog in the history of dogs.”