The newest officer to be sworn into the Avondale, Ariz., police force is neither human nor dog he’s a bearded dragon.
For a year, the reptile named Iroh has been the department’s mascot while he was being tried out as a bomb-sniffing lizard.
The cold-blooded cop was officially sworn in Thursday by Chief Dale Nannenga.
“Iroh has turned out to be a valuable member of the Avondale Police family,” the department said in a Facebook post in February.
“Research has shown that reptiles possess a strong sense of smell making their ability to detect certain illicit drugs possibly more accurate than K9s,” the department said.
“Our pilot program drug sniffing bearded dragon will be assisting Officers in the City. Please help us welcome Iroh!”
