By Simone Jasper
Source The Charlotte Observer
Energetic puppies raced across a field on their “first day of school” — and social media users couldn’t get enough of the cuteness.
But the pups weren’t just there for frolicking and fun. A South Carolina sheriff’s office said trainers were watching to see if the dogs had what it takes to be on the department’s K9 team.
“To some, this looks like simple puppy play time, but these future tracking dogs are being evaluated,” the York County Sheriff's Office said in captions on a Dec. 6 video.
While the puppies ran around, officials were looking for several characteristics: “courage, determination, loyalty, and natural instinct.”
The video website Storyful reported the young dogs are bloodhounds, a breed famous for its sense of smell. Bloodhounds have been used to find people and can reach up to 110 pounds, the American Kennel Club said on its website.
The four pups shown wagging their tails in the video had some growing to do — and were eager to get back to their mom after their training session was over.
“So far everyone is making good grades,” officials said.
Just over a day after the minute-long video was posted, it had garnered more than 9,000 views and dozens of fans.
“I could watch this all day. … such cuties in training,” one Facebook user commented.
Another wrote: “How do we adopt the ones who flunk?”
Deputies in York County — home to Rock Hill and south of Charlotte, North Carolina — didn’t immediately share additional information about the pups with McClatchy News on Dec. 7.
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