Meet the first female K9 handler for the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office

(ABC 6 NEWS) – Aviana Torkelson recently became the first female to become a K9 handler at Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, and now she and her dog Ragnar are working toward patrolling the streets.

"Since I was a kid it was a dream," Olmsted County Deputy Sheriff, Aviana Torkelson said.

When she saw there was interest in adding another K9 handler in Olmsted County she knew it was time.

"I was like you know what now is a perfect time what’s stopping me," Torkelson said.

She applied, went through an oral panel, and took an exam.

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"And I happened to come out as number one and I was excited about it and then it was a whirlwind after that," Torkelson said.

She’s had her pup Ragnar for about two months and he came from Hungary.

"He comes with no obedience, so we are working on commands like sit and down a lot of focus work so eye contact is really huge," Torkelson said.

Soon the team will head to Saint Paul for 16 weeks to start school and eventually lead them to live out Torkelson’s dream.

"Law enforcement we are people too and I’m in this career to be a civil servant and public servant and I wanna dedicate a lot of time to make the dog the best K9 he can be and show their true potential," Torkelson said.

The duo starts class on Monday and will graduate at the end of May. Ragnar will be a dual-purpose dog and work in narcotics and apprehension.

They will start patrolling in June.