Stryker was less than an hour from being euthanized at a Los Angeles shelter when rescuers stepped in. Now the former shelter dog is a working narcotics-detection K9 patrolling with the Monroe Township Police Department in Middlesex County, paired with a second rescue dog named Storm in a program the department says both teams have now completed training for and are officially serving the community.
According to police, Stryker was pulled from the Los Angeles shelter with less than an hour to spare before his scheduled euthanasia, as reported by Patch. The nonprofit K9 Protectors, which says on its website it pulled Stryker from LA Animal Services with help from the rescue group Outta the Cage, describes him as an approximately one- to two-year-old Shepherd mix who had already begun training as a narcotics-detection canine by the time the group posted his story. K9 Protectors donated both Stryker and his new partner, Storm, to the Monroe Township Police Department, Patch reports, and the department credits the organization with recognizing Stryker's potential for police work and helping prepare him for the job.
A Second Chance Found Roaming in Virginia
Storm's path to the K9 unit started on the other side of the country. The dog was found roaming in Virginia, where Quantico police picked him up and brought him to the Prince William County Animal Shelter, per the same report from Patch. He was adopted out of the shelter but didn't stay in his new home long — he was returned to the shelter just two days later, according to Patch's account.
That's when K9 Protectors stepped in again, rescuing Storm and identifying his potential as a working dog. The group's website describes Storm as a 49-pound, possible Dutch Shepherd mix estimated to be under a year old, calling him puppyish, social, stable, and driven. Those traits translated into a new career: Storm now works alongside Officer Jake Lloyd as a narcotics-detection K9 for Monroe Township, while Stryker is partnered with Officer Richard Diaz.
The Officers Behind the New K9 Teams
Diaz and Lloyd have each served with the Monroe Township Police Department since 2020, both working as field training officers and honor guard members, according to Shore News Network. Diaz also serves as the department's bike unit coordinator and works as a Spanish-language translator for the force. Lloyd, for his part, is a certified drug recognition expert who has received multiple recognitions from Mothers Against Drunk Driving for his DUI enforcement and drug recognition work.
The Monroe Township Police Department says both K9 teams have finished training and are now on duty in the township, handling narcotics-detection work as full members of the force. The department told Patch that remaining expenses tied to the K9 program are being covered through asset forfeiture funds, though no further financial breakdown was provided.
For two dogs that each nearly ran out of chances — one on a euthanasia list, the other bounced back to a shelter after a failed adoption — the outcome marks an unusual turn: from uncertain futures in animal shelters thousands of miles apart to working partnerships on a New Jersey police force.
