The UNM Police Department is receiving high-profile kudos.
The U.S. Attorney's office and local Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms recognized the work of Ultra, the police dog, on Friday with a commemorative plaque in a ceremony held at the police station.
In the fall, Ultra helped the bureau recover 500 pounds of stolen explosives in Aztec, Bloomfield and parts of Colorado.
Eric Miller, Ultra's handler and the department's K-9 unit specialist, said the explosives were stolen from Cherry Industries in 2005.
"We cleared several houses in the Albuquerque metro area before I was called to go to Farmington with ATF," he said. "Fortunately, we were able to collect all of the missing explosives and track down the suspects, and they just completed the prosecution."
Ultra is a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois who joined the department in 2005.
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Miller said Ultra's work goes beyond recovery missions.
"One of my other responsibilities is clearing the stadiums before spectators show up," he said. "Ultra checks for explosives before every basketball and football game. He also went through Johnson Gym before President Clinton came to town."
Ultra is the department's only dog.
Miller said Ultra often helps with other searches by the Albuquerque Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Department and the New Mexico State Police.
"We're a real small, tight-knit community that works together," he said. "Police dogs are a limited resource. APD has more than 100 officers, and they only have one dog."
Miller said that off the job, Ultra is a great family dog.
"He's a wonderful dog," he said. "He is both an explosives and a patrol dog. And it's funny because when I'm out on patrol, a lot of people are afraid of him. He is actually one of the most playful dogs in the world."
In addition to the department's K-9 unit, New Mexico's Attorney General also selected UNM's domestic violence policy as the model for the state, said Lt. Pat Davis, spokesman for the department.
"Our chief sits on a committee that worked on developing a domestic abuse-response action plan for all police departments in New Mexico," Davis said. "We submitted our plan, and it was selected as an outstanding model for the rest of the state."
Davis said domestic abuse is an important issue to tackle.
"Often, domestic abuse starts out small, but it can lead to other problems," he said. "It's important to deal with a situation at the beginning, before it expands to other problems."
