When Kiah, an 85-pound pit bull, received ASPCA's Public Service Award in New York City yesterday, she probably didn't know that she'd just made pit bull history. The brave pup is the first pit bull to be a registered K-9 police dog in the state of New York — which is no small feat when you consider the stigma the dog's breed carries.

Getty Images

But Kiah wasn't born or bred into success — in fact, she hardly survived the earlier years of her life. When Brad Croft, the operations director for UniversalK9 (a foundation that trains rescued pit bulls for law enforcement roles) walked into a shelter in Kirby, Texas, he noticed a quiet dog in the corner. Kiah was recovering from a nearly fatal blow to the head; she had been struck in the skull with a hammer just days before she arrived at the shelter. "From what I saw, I just couldn't believe she survived it," Croft told CBS News. "But she did."

This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Croft caught a glimmer of Kiah's potential and took her back to San Antonio where she began training as a police dog. She didn't get the hang of it right away, but after just eight weeks of training she was police force ready. The reason for her quick turnaround? Kiah "outworks [other dogs] all days of the week," asserted Croft."This dog is crazy good."

So when the City of Poughkeepsie (NY) Police Department announced that they were looking for a dedicated and brave K9 to join their force, Croft had just the pup in mind. The rest is history. Today, just two years later, Kiah works alongside her partner, Officer Justin Bruzgul helping her human counterparts find illegal narcotics and missing persons. She's also a decorated pup officer — yesterday, she was recognized by the ASPCA in New York City at the Humane Awards Luncheon for being an "ambassador" for pit bulls everywhere and demonstrating that her breed "can perform the same law enforcement work traditionally reserved for other breeds."

This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

And as for that stereotype? Kiah's teammates have never seen a glimmer of her breed's stigmatic aggression. "She's so friendly, she wouldn't hurt a fly," Croft told CBS.

[h/t CBS News]

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io