Sheriff Craig Webre announced a family from Gray, Louisiana, has donated a six-month-old German shepherd to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office for use in the K-9 section.

“We are excited to welcome K-9 Athena to the LPSO family,” said Sheriff Webre. “We are very grateful to the Francise family for their generous donation.”

Jamie and Kathy Francise acquired the German shepherd as a gift for their daughter, Jolie. They later discovered Jolie to have an allergy to the pet. In trying to determine their best course of action at that point, they ultimately opted to donate the dog to the sheriff’s office.

The Francise family had named the dog “Athena” for the Greek goddess of wisdom and war. In donating Athena to the sheriff’s office, they only requested that she would keep the same name. In doing so, they pointed out that the Greek goddess Athena was often portrayed as a companion of heroes and is the patron goddess of heroic endeavor.

K-9 section supervisor, Sergeant Charles Thomas, has been assigned as K-9 Athena’s handler, and her training has already commenced.