Southwest
Texas shelter dog becomes impressive police K-9 as he combats fentanyl crisis
A shelter dog has found a new mission in life as a drug-sniffing police K-9 — a transformation that took place just months after the pup was rescued from the streets of Fort Worth, Texas.
“If you talk to me in five years, I guarantee you we’re going to have kilos of records to reflect his service to the city,” Sgt. Charles Hubbard of the Fort Worth Police Department told Fox News Digital.
Rock, a long and dark-coated German shepherd mix, is part of narcotics detection operations that have taken hundreds of thousands of pills off the streets — making him a vital tool in combating today’s fentanyl crisis.
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“I’m talking 20,000, 100,000, 500,000 pills off the street before they ever get out into our community,” Hubbard said of the role narcotics detection K-9s play in law enforcement.
Last summer, then-six-month-old Rock was found wandering around the city with his sister.
Rock is photographed shortly after arriving at the Fort Worth Animal Control’s Chuck & Brenda Silcox Animal Care & Adoption Center in Fort Worth, Texas. (Sgt. Charles Hubbard, Fort Worth Police Department)
The dogs were brought to the Fort Worth Animal Control’s Chuck & Brenda Silcox Animal Care & Adoption Center, where shelter superintendent Anastasia Ramsey recognized that the two pups were special.
“We took them out in the yard, and we did some tennis ball exercises where we tossed the ball to see if they had any interest,” Ramsey said — adding that she and her team tossed the dogs treats to see if they were able to “learn things quickly.”
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“Rock passed with flying colors,” she said.
“He just blew everything out of the water.”
Sgt. Charles Hubbard, left, is shown beside Officer Kristopher Thompson, right, who is the Fort Worth Police Department’s K-9 team trainer. (Sgt. Charles Hubbard, Fort Worth Police Department)
Ramsey’s own husband is a K-9 police officer with the Dallas Police Department, so she said she’s aware of what law enforcement is looking for in a K-9 dog.
She recorded videos of Rock and his sister — and the team from Fort Worth Police Department then took the pair for a two-week trial.
“Anastasia [Ramsey] has got a good eye,” Hubbard said.
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“She knows the traits that we’re looking for … We trusted what she was evaluating out there and everything that she believed proved true because both Rock and his sister completed narcotics training,” Hubbard said.
Rock was only six months old when he was rescued from the streets in Fort Worth. He was then brought into the Fort Worth Police Department. (Sgt. Charles Hubbard, Fort Worth Police Department)
The officers decided that with Rock’s high energy and high prey-and-hunt drive, the pup would definitely be a fit and would excel.
“You want a dog that’s going to want to go to work every day,” Hubbard said.
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“And I’ll tell you what, every time I get him out of the car, and even when he’s at home off duty — when he comes out of his kennel, he’s sniffing.”
Hubbard said Rock wants to sniff cars, boxes — anything he can get his nose on.
“We can’t do this job without a K-9 like him. It’s the most effective way for us to combat fentanyl, heroin, meth, cocaine, all of it.”
“That’s the most desired trait — that you don’t have to work your dog up,” Hubbard said. “You’re not always saying, ‘Buddy, let’s go, let’s go.’ You just get him out, and he’s ready to go.”
Rock’s sister, Jade, while just as smart, turned out to have a softer personality. She was placed as a school resource K-9.
“Rock is super friendly, very fun-loving,” Ramsey said.
Rock is a ball full of energy and loves going to work every day, always ready to sniff anything and everything. (Sgt. Charles Hubbard, Fort Worth Police Department)
“He seems to enjoy working. He has a lot of energy. And so, pairing those types of dogs with someone who can give them something to do, like a police department, is instrumental in making sure that we set those dogs up for success,” she said.
Rock continued to show his skills. He soon went to work with Hubbard as his handler in a specialized segment of narcotics called K-9 interdiction.
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Dogs in this unit do not apprehend suspects, but work strictly as sniffers to find drugs and contraband.
“In the particular unit we are in, we are task force officers with Homeland Security,” Hubbard said.
Sgt. Charles Hubbard has a feeling that in five years, Rock will have collected kilos of drugs to his name — all for the safety of the city. (Sgt. Charles Hubbard, Fort Worth Police Department)
“So we’re federal agents under Customs and Border Patrol,” Hubbard added.
“Besides the southern border, international shipments are where both the base opioids are coming through as well as the finished pills.”
Hubbard and Rock can be found on duty at any distribution facility — such as UPS, FedEx or the U.S. Postal Service — checking out bulk shipments.
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“If [we] don’t work the bulk side and have a K-9 that can tell you, ‘Hey, there’s 100,000 pills in this box,’ we’re just never going to know,” Hubbard said.
“And once that hits the street and starts getting dispersed, you’re going to have mass overdoses, and then you’re behind the eight ball — you can’t catch up. So, plainly, we can’t do this job without a K-9 like him. It’s the most effective way for us to combat fentanyl, heroin, meth, cocaine, all of it.”
Sgt. Charles Hubbard takes Rock home to his family and to his two other dogs who were once police K-9s. (Sgt. Charles Hubbard, Fort Worth Police Department)
Rock also has discovered fentanyl in the field on traffic stops, had cocaine alerts in storage facilities and made multiple marijuana finds, Hubbard said.
At the end of a hard day’s work, Hubbard takes Rock home to his family and to his other two dogs, one of whom is a retired police K-9.
“All of our dogs go home with us,” Hubbard said.
“We spend more time with our K-9s than we do with our family because we’re at home with them all the time on the weekends, and then they go to work with us,” he said.
“Three of our six K-9s are shelter rescues now.”
Hubbard said he hopes Rock’s story inspires other police departments to give their local shelters a look when trying to identify a K-9.
“Three of our six K-9s are shelter rescues now,” Hubbard.
“I don’t know that you’ll find another unit [in which] half of their K-9 makeup are rescues.”
Ramsey said she sees it as a win-win situation.
Three of the six police K-9s at the Fort Worth Police Department are shelter dogs — proving that shelter dogs are capable of assisting in important police business, said Hubbard. (Sgt. Charles Hubbard, Fort Worth Police Department)
“It’s a double positive,” she said.
“[It’s] for the dogs and the image of shelter pets. Maybe for someone who thinks, ‘Oh, shelter dogs — they’re not what I’m looking for. I want something that can do X, Y and Z’ — well, shelter dogs, in most cases, can do that, too.”
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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 800-273-TALK (8255).
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, admitted to having an affair with a former staffer for the first time on Wednesday.
Gonzales made the confession during an appearance on a conservative talk radio show, just one day after he advanced to a runoff election in his congressional district’s GOP primary. The House Ethics Committee also launched an investigation into Gonzales on Wednesday.
“I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” he said on “The Joe Pags Show” Wednesday night. “Since then, I’ve reconciled with my wife, Angel. I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever.”
“When you make mistakes like this, it’s never easy. It humbles you,” he added.
Regina Santos-Aviles, a staffer for Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, died Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Uvalde, Texas. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images | Regina Santos-Aviles Facebook)
The Ethics Committee is investigating whether Gonzales, a married father of six, engaged in sexual misconduct with a female member of his staff and whether he doled out special favors or privileges as a result.
Gonzales has said he has no plan to step down in the face of the accusations, saying last month that there are more details to be released regarding the situation.
“What you’ve seen is not all the facts,” Gonzales told reporters in late February.
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Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, has denied having anything to do with his former staffer’s death. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The three-term congressman argued at the time that he was being “blackmailed” in connection with the case. Controversy first arose after the San Antonio Express-News reported they obtained text messages in which the former staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, wrote to a colleague that she had an affair with the lawmaker.
Santos-Aviles later died after setting herself on fire.
Gonzales denied having anything to do with her death during his radio appearance.
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Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, is interviewed by CQ-Roll Call. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“I hadn’t spoken with Miss Santos since June of 2024. She passed September of 2025… I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing. And in fact, I was shocked just as much as everyone else,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales took to social media last month and accused Santos-Aviles’ husband of “blackmail,” sharing a partial screenshot of an email from the widower and claiming he was seeking money.
“I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED,” Gonzales wrote in a Feb. 19 post on X. “Disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death.”
In the email posted by Gonzales, attorney Robert Barrera discussed a possible lawsuit against the lawmaker and a potential settlement with a nondisclosure agreement. The email says that the maximum recoverable amount is $300,000.
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Barrera denied he was trying to blackmail Gonzales.
“It is a desperate attempt to make him look again like a political victim,” Barrera told The Associated Press last month. “There’s no blackmail here. I mean, it’s just ridiculous allegations.”
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Southwest
Nancy Guthrie’s abductor may have returned to the crime scene, left critical clues at tribute: expert
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TUCSON, Ariz. — As a growing memorial outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson-area home continues to draw visitors, new questions are emerging about whether investigators are monitoring the site.
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, is believed to have been abducted from her home in the early hours of Feb. 1.
“They could [have eyes on the memorial], we’re just not seeing it,” Betsy Brantner Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association and a retired police sergeant, tells Fox News Digital. “They could be keeping track of it, but we’re not seeing the cameras.”
Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her Tucson home on Feb. 1. (Getty Images)
Yellow flowers, handwritten notes, artwork and even an open letter addressed to the “kidnapper” have been left at the makeshift tribute in front of her home.
While the memorial grows, however, visible law enforcement presence has significantly dropped.
“Detectives are reviewing all viable leads in this case,” a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital. “We do not speak to specifics, as this is still an ongoing investigation.”
Authorities have not publicly identified a suspect, vehicle or any persons of interest.
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Haunting Nest doorbell camera video shows a masked man on Nancy Guthrie’s front steps around the time of her abduction. He is described as being of average height and build and was wearing a black Ozark Trail backpack.
“In this type of situation where you have the potential for a suspect having done this because he or she is somehow obsessed with Savannah Guthrie or seeing Nancy featured on the ‘Today’ show multiple times… someone who is obsessed with notoriety, celebrity — there’s a lot of pathology involved in that,” Brantner Smith said.
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A member of the Pima County Sheriff’s office was seen outside of Nancy Guthrie’s home, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (Ty O’Neil/AP Photo; Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
“Potentially, that is the type of person that could come back to the memorial, look at the memorial, even take photos of the memorial and add to the memorial themselves.”
As to why there’s been an alleged lack of law enforcement presence monitoring the site, Brantner Smith pointed to one likely scenario.
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“It may be because they have solid suspects, and they just haven’t released that information to the public,” she said.
It’s not uncommon for an offender to return to the crime scene, she added.
A growing vigil in the morning light under cloudy skies is seen at Nancy Guthrie’s home on February 13, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. (Ty O’Neil/AP Photo)
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“Sometimes the offender will come back to the scene of the crime. So, in that vein, they would come to the memorial, and they may have left their own note, their own flowers,” she said.
Often, it’s a mark of their arrogance, she told Fox News Digital.
“I am guessing that the suspect or suspects who did this are frankly taking great pride in the fact that so far they’ve got away with it,” she added. “Coming back can also be a way to bring back that rush that they had when they originally committed the crime.”
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Such behavior happens frequently in arson cases, she said.
Deputies examine a flyer taped to Nancy Guthrie’s mailbox on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. They were called to the scene after volunteer searchers and several streamers walked onto Guthrie’s property with a shovel. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
“But it’s also not untypical in a homicide case or, in this case, a missing person,” she continued. “We’ve got to look at the psychology of people who do this kind of stuff. They also may want to come back to see what kind of people are leaving notes and leaving flowers.”
For that reason, she said, investigators should be reading the notes to develop potential leads.
“They’re coming back to see the impact that they had on this neighborhood and on this family,” she said. “And the rest of us would view that as very sick, but law enforcement has to view that as a way to collect clues.”
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Savannah, her sister Annie, and brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, placed flowers at the growing tribute near the foot of Nancy’s driveway on Monday in a somber visit to the crime scene.
Annie Guthrie, her husband Tommaso Cioni, and Savannah Guthrie at their missing mother Nancy Guthrie’s home on Monday, March 2, in Tucson, Arizona. (Fox News)
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A combined reward for information that leads to Nancy’s recovery from the FBI, local authorities and the Guthrie family stands at over $1 million. It has not yet been claimed.
Savannah is asking anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has endorsed Texas state Rep. Steve Toth, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw in the Lone Star State’s 2nd Congressional District Republican primary.
“I am proud to endorse @SteveTothTX for Congress in Texas’s 2nd Congressional District. Steve faithfully served the people of Texas in the Texas House of Representatives, championing our Texas values of liberty, limited government, and constitutional governance,” Cruz said in a post on X.
“Steve is an unwavering fighter for school choice, fiscal responsibility, and the next generation of Americans. Washington needs bold leadership and representatives who will stand up for Texans at every turn,” Cruz continued.
Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw speaks during a showcase hosted by TerraFlow in Houston Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
“Steve has the experience, the courage, and the conviction to do just that. I’m honored to support his campaign and urge voters in Texas’s 2nd Congressional District to join me in electing Steve Toth to Congress,” he added.
While President Donald Trump has not made an endorsement in the race, he previously backed Toth for Texas state House in 2022 and 2024.
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Texas House incumbent Rep. Steve Toth gives a brief statement before the start of a gubernatorial debate held at Grace Woodlands Church and put on by the True Texas Project on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022 in Spring, Texas. (Michael Wyke/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
“State Representative Steve Toth is doing a fantastic job representing Texas State House District 15. A Small Business Owner and an Ordained Minister, Steve is fighting tirelessly to Secure our Elections, Grow the Economy, Eliminate Needless Regulations, Strengthen the Border, Support our Great Military/Veterans, and Protect and Defend our under siege Second Amendment. Steve Toth has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump wrote in a 2024 Truth Social post.
The last day of early voting for Texas’ March 3 primary contests is Friday, according to the Texas Secretary of State website.
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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, arrives for the cloture vote on the government funding bill in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Crenshaw has served in Congress since early 2019.
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