K9 Officer Viper will join the Hillsborough Police Department this month to replace retiring K9 Officer Sampson.
Officer Sampson served the Town of Hillsborough for eight years, and will retire to live with his handler. Viper is a German shepherd from Czechoslovakia purchased from the Tarheel Canine Training Inc.
Viper is a dual-purpose patrol dog. In addition to protecting his partners and apprehending suspects, Viper is also trained to locate five types of narcotics, track people, perform building searches and locate items such as discarded weapons.