When your owner tells you to "heel," you listen. When your owner tells you to "rappel," you better rappel like your life depends on it.
On Oct. 22, a photo was posted on the Vancouver Police Department Facebook page showing a partner team cooperating over a new training technique, called rappelling.
Pittsburgh's WPXI identifies the clinging little German Shepard as K-9 Officer Niko.
Thankfully, Niko's desperate appearance is just part of the training of rappelling. The Vancouver PD's Facebook comments that "rappelling is a vital skill for our tactical teams to have, and it tests both handler and dog. In the training scenario in the photo, PSD Niko was introduced slowly to the task, and his handler rewarded him with praise... afterwards."
And the cherry on top (maybe even better than wearing a matching set of harnesses) -- Niko was also treated with a great game of tug-of-war.
Goes to show, training to defend the civilian population may be a lot like going to a high-ropes course.