WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas -- The Williamson County Sheriff is reaching out on social media to ask for your ideas to name its newest officer.

“We believe that the K9 unit is a force multiplier. They’ve been of tremendous service to the community and to the deputies here,” said Commander Steve Deaton of patrol operations, which includes the K-9 units.

The law enforcement agency has added two new dogs to its ranks. There are now nine canines, and eight handlers. The move is made possible through money seized from criminal activity. This past weekend, the sheriff’s office acquired its newest canine, a two-year-old, half-German Shepherd, half-Belgian Malinois.

He is already training near Bandera in bomb detection and apprehension with his handler, Deputy Sarah Cole. They will be out on patrol by the end of May. 

“They’re man’s best friend, they work very well, because they have the ability to use their nose. As police officers and law enforcement agencies, finding stuff is often what we do. Finding bad guys, finding contraband, finding lost kids, finding explosives and so they provide an asset,” said Deaton.

The Sheriff’s Office is now asking the public’s help in finding a new name that is up to five letters long. 

“You don’t want to make the dog wait until the entire word is said sometimes, time is of the essence,” Deaton said. 

Sheriff Chody has been on social media talking about it. He tweeted out a poll with possible names:  Fuse, Thor, Smoke, or Bolt.  On Twitter he wrote: “We don’t intend this to be a final for the name of our lovely K-9. We likely will add a couple more because naming a K9 should not be taken lightly.” 

“[Chody] has put our agency on the map so to speak, because he’s very transparent and wants to share what we do with the community both the good and the bad,” Deaton said.  

Some of the canines even have their own Twitter accounts, and they have become celebrities.