A chocolate lab named Siren is melting hearts as newest member of Durham Police Department

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- A chocolate labrador is the newest team member of the Durham Police Department.

Her name is Siren, and she starts her career as a therapy dog for DPD on Thursday.

She comes from the K9 Responder Academy based in Charlotte. Like an actual Siren, her owner Rick said he hoped when people saw the chocolate lab, they would know she was there to help.

He hosted a scholarship competition that would provide a state public safety agency with a therapy dog, fully trained by their academy and free of cost. DPD was the lucky department.

Siren will be assigned to Sergeant Lafferty, who was the handler of K9 Daro on DPD's K9 Unit. Daro died from cancer in 2021.