The Coweta City Council recently approved the purchase of a new service dog for the city's police department.

Coweta Police Chief Mike Bell said this new service dog will help improve safety for both officers and residents.

It’s been about two years since the City of Coweta last had a service dog. This one will be trained to detect drugs on the streets; specifically fentanyl.

Chief Bell said the city has seen an increase in fentanyl use with four deaths in just six months.

He said the service dog can also protect officers in the field and help with patrolling.

"If we know that there is a specific area of town that we suspect there is people dealing drugs in that area, yes we can use the dog and start kind of using it to locate vehicles and open air searches," Chief Mike Bell said.

The city council approved $16,000 to help purchase the new service dog and give the officer training.

Chief Bell anticipates it will be early spring before the dog will be on the streets.