Deputy Karla Altenbaumer is a K-9 handler for the Black Hawk County (Iowa) Sheriff’s Office , but her mission and the mission of her dog Mary is not to take down bad guys. It’s to help fellow deputies cope with the pressures of the job and to help her agency build positive relations between the community and law enforcement.

Working with Mary has been the highlight of Altenbaumer’s 16-year law enforcement career, she says. “Mary’s job is officer wellness, community engagement , and crisis response. During our short time together, Mary has done amazing things. I love to get out in the community and see the smiles on people’s faces. I also love that my coworkers seek her out to play with her or just pet her. Mary can read people’s emotions and help them when they are in need, whether the person knows it or not.”

Altenbaumer got into law enforcement because she didn’t want to spend her career as an office worker. “I knew I didn’t want to sit behind a desk all day,” she says. “I knew I wanted to be out in the community helping people and making a positive impact.”

Being out in the community was not always easy for Altenbaumer. She says her colleagues always accepted her as a female officer, but some of the public expressed doubts about her ability to do the job.

Now with more than a decade on the job, she says she feels like she has achieved some of her greatest goals and she looks forward to the future. “I want to continue to work to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community. I know that with the help of Mary, we can do great things and help so many people.”