Anne Arundel Co. Sheriff Announces Name Of New K9 Unit German Shepherd

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- There's a new dog coming onto the force in Anne Arundel County and some area kids got a chance to have a say on what the new dog's name will be, and it's a sinister but a "punny" one.

Today, Callie the German Shepherd, searched for bombs at the county courthouse. None were found. Outside, Anne Arundel County Sheriff's Deputy Corporal Jason Jett gets his partner out of their shared cruiser.

Corporal Jett's K9 partner is Grimm. Grimm sniffs for bombs and chases down bad guys. But, for Grimm, those days will soon be over.

"Probably the last year or so we've noticed a slowing down. Knowing Grimm's replacement was necessary," says Corporal Jett.

Sheriff Bateman asked all of the county's elementary school kids to name his replacement, and 1,200 suggestions poured in.

"When we were going through the process of looking through all these names, we came down to a final nine," says Anne Arundel County Sheriff Ron Bateman.

There were some unique suggestions.

"Mr. Bubbles. Ha ha ha, but we loved it," says Deputy Jett.

Mr. Bubbles didn't make it and neither did Titan. But keeping in mind his predecessor "Grimm."

"The name right now is Reaper, that's the number one winner," he says.

Sheriff Bateman and Deputy Jett went to surprise student Marc Portaro at his school as the winner of the name the K9 contest for suggesting 'Reaper.'

"Whoooooo, so here's the name folks, Reaper, picked by Mark Portaro. Good job buddy," says Sheriff Bateman, congratulating Marc.

Marc, and two others who picked the same name received some goodies from the sheriff, and a Mission BBQ gift certificate.

Marc says he was surprised.

And now, thanks to Marc, some future prisoner doesn't have to say he was caught by "Mr. Bubbles."

There were three first-place winners, the two others got similar visits from the sheriff later in the day.

Along with Marc Portaro, Kylie Hall at Marley Elementary and Grace Kyper at Solley Elementary suggested "Reaper."

Veronica Fillhart at Crofton Elementary suggested runner-up "Titan," and Patrick Groves at Shadyside Elementary got third place for "Mr. Bubbles."

Once Reaper completes training, Corporal Jett and Reaper will visit the winner's school for a canine demonstration. "Reaper" will report for duty at the end of March.

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