'Maniac' Chicago Police Dog Rozi Is An 'Adorable' Social Media Darling
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago police K9 has become an Instagram star.
Rozi, a bomb-sniffing police dog, has more than 2,600 followers. Her handler, Officer Gina Ibarra, chronicles Rozi's daily adventures of hard work.
For any dog, there's nothing like burning off a little energy in the backyard to get the day started. For Rozi and Ibarra, it's actually a pre-work warmup.
Ibarra, a 13-year-veteran of the Chicago Police Department, said she always knew she wanted to be a K9 handler.
For the last 3 years, she and Rozi have been partners at work and at home.
"I knew I wanted to be a police officer, and I knew I wanted to do something more within the department, and becoming a K9 handler was what was perfect for me," Ibarra said.
Rozi, a 55-pound German shorthaired pointer, was born in Germany, and trained at the TSA canine training center in San Antonio when she was a year old before becoming an explosive detection K9 for the CPD.
Ibarra said, when she first met Rozi, she thought she was "adorable."
"She looked like the sweetest dog, but as soon as I held her leash I was like, 'Oh my God, this dog's a maniac,'" Ibarra said.
Eager, and very high energy, Rozi's personality is a contrast to her partner's.
"I'm a very like laid back, relaxed, kind of chill type of person, and I've always been like that at work and in life, and I just thought to myself immediately, 'How did they give me this dog?'" Ibarra said. "Then as time went on, I started realizing, well, I guess, you know, opposites attract, and I could be the calm to her storm, or she could be the storm to my calm. We kind of balance each other that way."
Rozi's personality speaks for itself, and has helped her garner nationwide attention.
Her Instagram page has 2,369 followers.
"I love taking photos," Ibarra said. "So as soon as I got Rozi, I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm taking a million photos of her, and then I just realized I was just being that dog mom that was just posting a million pictures of her dog on Facebook."
That's when she decided to create an Instagram account for Rozi. In about a year, Rozi had three times as many followers as Ibarra.
From the Riverwalk, to CTA buses and trains, to their work at Super Bowl LII, the Instagram feed is just another way for Ibarra and Rozi to connect to the Chicago community; and Rozi is a great liaison.
Rozi spends most of her days near mass transit sites like the 'L' and the airports.
No matter where work tasks bring Rozi, Ibarra is always just a leash length away.
"Our bond doesn't just end at work. She's not just in the squad car with me. She's with me all the time," Ibarra said.
Ibarra said, even with three years on the job, Rozi has not found any bombs.
"It actually is a big relief," Ibarra said. "We train for it every single day, and we're prepared for it, but our day is great when we don't find anything, and that's a good relief."
Rozi's routine includes daily roll call, and patrols of 'L' stops. She also has assigned training days, when she and Ibarra do training exercises to work on finding mock bombs.
She might be a big bad police dog, but Rozi isn't completely fearless. Ibarra said she's afraid of her two cat brothers, Gizmo and Tiger.
"She's just terrified," Ibarra said. "She runs away from them. She won't walk past them unless I go with her."
