The University of Florida Police Department has added Maverick, a black Labrador retriever trained to detect explosives, to its K-9 unit.
The newest and youngest of the bunch, Maverick helps with bomb detection and increased security for university events with the help of his handler, K-9 Officer Jenna Cuevo.
While this is work for Maverick, he is always excited to come to campus to meet people and explore. Cuevo said that he loves coming to work as much as she does.
“UF for him is like his Disney World. Kids love going to Disney World. They think it's the best place on Earth. He thinks that about UF every day that we come here,” Cuevo said.
When Cuevo rattles her keys and puts on her police gear, Maverick starts jumping and running out the door. He knows it is time to serve the university.
Maverick came in after Ruff, a former K-9 dog, retired. He joins Libby, Beto and Ronnie, the other labrador retrievers that make up the unit.
While Maverick and Cuevo started working in June, months of training went into developing the team. Cuevo started working with other K-9 handlers and their dogs at the start of the year. She observed their work, and when she got Maverick in March, they started training. Training involved surveying campus, specifically Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and University Avenue.
According to Cuevo, Maverick stood out among his puppy peers, even from the beginning when he was bred in Columbia County.
“They look for dogs that kind of have that determination to just not give up for what they want, and are just very, very hardworking and will find what they need to find,” Cuevo said.
Their training was different compared to other K-9 units, as they met each other later into their training. But even though their training was different, living together for months helps grow a strong connection between them.
After their training completed, they started work with fireworks on July 3, volleyball sweeps and other community service events. Over the summer, they worked races in Daytona, where they aided in sweeping RVs and other cars coming in. Cuevo says that experiences like that are great for Maverick, as it helps him get used to different environments, which can help when he’s on the job in a more familiar place. While the pair sometimes work outside the school, most of the work they do involves campus venue sweeps and introducing students to Maverick.
Lea Visher, a fourth-year UF student and student intern at UFPD, said she was introduced to Maverick a week before the news of him was public.
“He’s very active and energetic and wanted to run around,” Visher said. “Every time there was a noise, he would perk up and look at the door.”
One of Maverick’s favorite places to be on campus is the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Whenever they sweep volleyball games and other events, Maverick can be found jumping up and down the stairs and sniffing everything in sight.
Them being the youngest team means they will be working for many years. Maverick is just over 1 year old, and since K-9 dogs tend to retire around 8 years old, Maverick has many years ahead of him, according to Cuevo.
Additionally, this is a new position for Cuevo, but one that she is very excited for. She graduated from the University of Florida in 2024, and she worked both night and day shifts with the police station while she was a student.
Cuevo says Maverick will be very active on campus, helping out for bigger university events. While students might see them on campus, Cuevo says there is no cause for alarm.
“Safety is our number one priority at the end of the day. I don’t want people to feel scared. I want them to feel safe, and I’m sure if Maverick could talk, he would say the same thing,” Cuevo said.
Students can find Cuevo and Maverick surveying sporting events or training on campus in different UF environments. They tend to go in groups with the other K-9 units when sweeping. They try to think of different areas the dogs haven’t been to yet and do group sweeps of those areas. Not only does that help expose the dogs to new areas, but it also helps improve the relationships between the dogs and their handlers.
They have already explored much of campus, but with more students coming during the fall semester, as well as many other new events, Cuevo is excited for Maverick to see the school for everything it offers.
“This is his first football season. It’s gonna be his first spring semester. So a lot of exciting things coming for sure,” Cuevo said.