New Butler County Sheriff's Department police dog Justice tries to give Deputy Eddie McGrady a kiss as K9 handler Sgt. Harry Callithen hangs on at Friday's meet-and-greet at the Butler County Government Center.

Butler County's sheriff introduced the community to its newest officer Friday.

Justice, a 2-year-old German wirehaired pointer, is stepping in as a new K9 unit with the sheriff's office, replacing Bullet, the 10-year-old German shorthaired pointer who was retired from the department last week.

Justice is trained to be a sniffing and tracking dog, and will be used to detect drugs, including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. He can track scents to assist in cases of missing persons.

Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe said sniffing police dogs are invaluable in search-and-rescue cases.

“If he can help find one missing child, it's worth the investment,” Slupe said. “He's used as another resource for the department.”

Sgt. Harry Callithen is Justice's handler with the sheriff's office, and they will be on the same schedule.

Callithen has been through the necessary training after handling Bullet for the past nine years, but he said Justice will still go through four hours of “maintenance training” per week, Callithen said.

While he is a police dog trained for specific duties, Justice welcomed visitors to the Butler County Government Center during his meet-and-greet Friday with affectionate kisses. Slupe and Callithen were available to introduce him and answer questions from the public, and Justice T-shirts were for sale by the department as a fundraiser.

Among the guests were the Butler County commissioners.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel said during the event that having a police dog is important to the county administration.

“It's an asset to the county,” Boozel said. “It'll really help the sheriff with tracking and will assist in schools with education.”

Slupe said Bullet had been integral in many cases during his time with the sheriff's department, and it was his usefulness and enthusiasm that prompted the county to get a successor.

Bullet is now retired at Callithen's home, and the officers are eager to see Justice take his place.

“He'll get a lot of use from the department,” Slupe said.