LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Just like their names, Clark County School District Police K-9 Officer Peppermint and Officer Steven Patty go hand in hand.
"She wakes up with me. She goes on runs with me," Patty said. "We're together all the time."
For Patty, Peppermint isn't just a partner in crime.
"She's like a child to me," he said.
That's why last Wednesday was one of the most traumatic days in Patty's 16-year career.
"This by far tops everything, anything I've ever participated in," he said.
Peppermint and fellow K-9 Officer Ace were helping another law enforcement agency during a search at a valley home, when both wereexposed to drugs, including opioids.
Investigators believe both K-9s may have sniffed the drugs in powdered form.
"She was walking sideways, very quickness of breath," Patty said. "She just was not acting right."
Officers feared the K-9s might die but quickly administered NARCAN, an over-the-counter nasal spray used to reverse opioid overdoses.
By the time Ace and Peppermint got to the hospital, officers said both were acting almost normal.
Officer Patty emphasized the significance of NARCAN, or the generic naloxone.
"It's probably one of the more or the most important things were carry on us," Patty said.
According to CCSDPD, since July 2023, their six K-9s have done more than 1,300 random sniffs on campuses and 99 deployments, including 36 off-campus.
Officers said the K-9s serve an important role in the safety of school campuses.
"Pretty much everything found on the streets eventually makes its way on to our schools in some way, shape or form," Patty said.
Ace and Peppermint returned to duty on Monday.
