If you didn’t think that the battle against the coronavirus pandemic was serious enough – well, a very big gun just entered the fray. The Guilford County Sheriff’s Department has enlisted the help of America’s most favorite crime-fighting dog – save, perhaps, Conan the hero dog that helped take down terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last year.
The department is using McGruff the Crime Dog to get the word out to kids about smart ways to battle the virus.
To kick off the public information campaign, on Thursday, April 23, the department released a video on its Facebook page titled, “McGruff Protects Kids From Germs.” That video features sergeant M. Buchanan with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department. In the five-minute feature, she works with a surgical mask-wearing McGruff to get the word out.
In the information campaign, McGruff doesn’t do any talking but he does bark agreement and make other dog noises as the officer shares tips with kids about things like social distancing and good hand-washing practices.
As part of the campaign, kids in Guilford County are being asked to draw a picture of themselves and their “happy family,” and send it to “Guilford County Sheriff’s Office. ATTN: McGruff’s Picture Board, 400 W. Washington St., Greensboro, NC 27401.”
The pictures will be featured on the department’s Facebook page and the kids will get an official certificate noting that they’re doing their part.
“It’s safe to be around your family and friends,” Buchanan states in the video, “but, outside of your household, be sure to use the six-foot distancing rule.”
McGruff, of course, carries a tape measure with him so that he can maintain at least a six-foot distance from others.
McGruff also teaches viewers about the importance of coughing into your sleeve – or, for McGruff, that is, coughing into the fur of your upper front leg.
The video even manages to work in the Baby Shark song that kids love but that, through unbounded repetition, has driven many adults to the brink of insanity.
McGruff the Crime Dog is described by Wikipedia as “an anthropomorphic animated bloodhound created by Dancer Fitzgerald Sample through the Ad Council and later the National Crime Prevention Council to increase crime awareness and personal safety in the United States.”
There are many McGruff the Crime Dogs at police and sheriff’s departments across the country so there’s no way to be certain if the one working with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department is the actual McGruff.
