It’s McGruff!! The Newest Member of Lamar’s K9 Police Department
Russ Baldwin | Oct 05, 2012 | Comments 0
Meet the one and only McGruff the Crime Dog, here to ‘take a bite out of crime’. McGruff, according to LPD Resource Officer, George Ibarra, is the newest addition to the force, joining just a week after Nero came aboard Lamar’s K9 force.
McGruff will have a position that combines public awareness with information regarding crimes, and crime prevention, specially geared to the city’s school students. This McGruff is more high tech than the original cartoon character, created in 1980 by the Ad Council. Ibarra said McGruff is equipped with a special microphone that broadcasts through loudspeakers concealed under his trenchcoat. His mouth movements will correspond with his speech and will be augmented to sound like the familiar voice from public service announcements. Even his eyes light up to emphasize a particular point.
A nationwide contest was held decades ago to name the character. Some of the suggestions included “Sherlock Bones” or “J. Edgar Dog”. McGruff has focused on such areas as bullying, the importance of staying in school, drug awareness and general safety features. Keeping with the times, the national figure has also touched on identity theft and internet safety for youngsters.
Ibarra said the middle and elementary schools will begin seeing the famous bloodhound in the near future as well as at some special events, such as the approaching Oktoberfest at the Lamar Chamber of Commerce.
By Russ Baldwin
Editor’s Note: Can you name any other famous fictional cartoon crime-fighting dogs..here’s my list so far….Underdog – Hong Kong Phooey – Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo – Gromit – Huckleberry Hound – Deputy Dawg.
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