Spanish Fort Police Adds Specialized K-9 Officer
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
April 14, 2026
SPANISH FORT, Ala. It’s not unusual for a growing police department to hire more officers and that’s exactly what the Spanish Police Department has done.
But this officer is unique and has a skill that others do not have.
According to Police Chief Barber, “Ray” is assigned a special task and as a working police K-9 officer, Ray is trained to detect a person’s cortisol levels instead of bombs, drugs or firearms.
Dogs can be trained to sniff out just about anything and Ray has been trained to detect Cortisol which is a stress hormone.
Chief John Barber said that he’ll alert to it almost like a dog would alert to a drug and that’s important because it’s an indicator that someone may be stressed which matters in this line of work.
Ray was donated to the police department by the Spanish Fort Law Enforcement Foundation and did not cost taxpayers any money.
He is trained to step in during some of life’s hardest moments, offering comfort to victims of crimes, witnesses and even the officers around him.
“I think it helps resolve a lot of the stress issues that occur with traumatic events,” Barber said. “He is a great dog, a great asset for our department in our community.”
Barber said Ray will be used with his staff and he’ll be making the rounds at the schools and during public events. What a better thing to have than a K-9 that’s out there for the community, for the officers, for our victims. If we have victims out there that need that little stress relief, I think it’s just a wonderful program and we’re so happy to have him here.
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