California Highway Patrol is welcoming nine dogs onto the team.
The canines and their handlers, each an experienced CHP officer, graduated in a ceremony Friday morning at the CHP Academy's Canine Training Facility.
Eight of the canines will join Patrol and Narcotics Detection Canine teams; one will join a Patrol and Explosives Detection Canine team.
"These nine teams are joining an already astonishing unit that serves as a vital part of the department in protecting the public," CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said in a statement. "The canines have received hundreds of hours of intense training and are ready to serve and support the mission of the CHP."
Graduating teams will be heading to each of CHP's eight geographic regions: Northern, Valley, Golden Gate, Central, Southern, Border, Coastal and Inland Division. Officer D. Jacobs, of CHP's Coastal Division, will be assigned to Monterey and Santa Cruz with his canine partner.
Among the nine graduates are two Belgian Malinois, two Dutch Shepherds and five German Shepherds.
CHP canines are used to detect human scent, contraband and explosives, officials say.
With the addition of Friday's graduating class, CHP has a total of 53 canine teams active throughout the state.
