K9 Xana Joins Howard Co. Police As Explosives, Firearms Detection Dog

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A new K9 has joined the Howard County police force.

Authorities introduced K9 Xana, a German shorthaired pointer, on social media recently. K9 Xana started official duties late this summer as an explosives and firearms detection dog.

K9 Xana also can help track down missing people.

The Chesapeake K-9 Fund provided the funding for the HCPD to purchase K9 Xana, the police department stated.

According to the Howard County Police Department, one of the first police dogs to join the force was Prince. In fact, HCPD Officer Randolph Brightwell, Prince's handler, was among the first in Maryland for a county police agency. Prince was on duty with Brightwell when he was fatally shot during a traffic stop in Ellicott City on May 29, 1961.

Brightwell, a World War II veteran, had pulled over a vehicle for a loud muffler, not knowing that the two men inside the car had just robbed a gas station and killed the store clerk. The men attacked Brightwell and shot him with his own service weapon. Prince was locked inside the patrol car during the attack, unable to help his handler, the HCPD stated.

Brightwell was 33 at the time of his death and left behind a wife and two young children. He became the first Howard County police officer killed in the line of duty. The department named its highest commendation, the Medal of Honor, in his honor, and Brightwell Drive at the county office complex was later named after him, according to the Howard County Police Officers' Association.

The most recent list of K9s on duty with the HCPD, dated July 2025, shows K9 Xana joins the following force of active K9s:

• K-9 Blade
• K-9 Bronx
• K-9 Duke
• K-9 Falco
• K-9 Max
• K-9 Murph
• K-9 Pegy
• K-9 Titan

All eight K9s received bullet- and stab-resistant vests donated by Vested Interest in K9s Inc.