Montgomery County police are adding some four-legged crime fighters to their ranks.

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“You cannot create another piece of equipment that can do the work a dog can do and can offer safety to officers and the public like these dogs can do,” said Officer Mary Davis of the Montgomery County police.

Two of the dogs now serving in the K-9 unit are trained to sniff out guns, a first for the county.

“Firearms are a little more prevalent these days and if the dogs can take them off the street that's one safer area for Montgomery County,” said Davis.

Montgomery County Police now have 29 dogs in their K-9 unit, which typically cost between $6,500 and $7,500, in addition to the cost of training.

The two latest four-legged members of the unit are Cali, an 18-months-old German shepherd, and Lila, a shepherd mix.

Their careers span about 8 years on average.

“Their intelligence, their temperament, their agility, their structure -- it's all right for this type of work,” said Sergeant Ari Elkin.

The dogs hone in on the unique combination of metallic, gun powder and gun oil scents.

“For obvious reasons weapons are high value pieces of evidence -- they can have DNA on them -- they are dangerous in nature and usually loaded, so we don’t want the dogs disturbing them,” Davis said.

Police are already talking about adding more of the firearm dogs to their ranks.