El Cerrito police will cross a historic frontier Monday night when they pin a badge on their first non-human member of the department.

The newest recruit, King, is a two-year-old German shepherd, but he's no ordinary police dog. He boasts an international background, having been born and raised in Germany, and he's unusually friendly, unless you get on his bad side.

"He's very social," said his handler, Officer Aaron Leone. "He loves to be petted. But he can be very, very aggressive, as I've seen in training."

Listed on the roster as "K-9 Officer King," he went on active duty on Nov. 5, after about a month of special training with El Cerrito police, but his official debut comes with his badge-pinning ceremony at Monday night's city council meeting.

The badge, a slightly smaller version of the one worn by two-legged officers, will be attached to his collar, Leone said.

Police dogs are used to find people, such as criminal suspects or lost kids, and things, such as items taken in a burglary. They can also be used to apprehend an evasive suspect who has been located but not yet taken in custody.

On Wednesday night this past week, King experienced his first, and so far only, taste of action when police received a report of someone trying to break into an apartment, Leone said. Officers responding to the scene spotted a suspect in an alley and surrounded the area while Leone approached with King on a leash.

"In the presence of the dog, the suspect decided to give up," Leone said. King was never let off the leash, luckily for the suspect, who turned out to be, not a would-be burglar, but a man so intoxicated that he mistakenly thought he was at his own home, Leone said.

El Cerrito police decided to acquire their own police dog instead of continuing to rely on canine assistance from neighboring police agencies such as Pinole, Richmond, San Pablo, BART and the Contra Costa County sheriff's department, Leone said. Using dogs from other agencies means tying up that agency's resources — the dog, the dog's handler and a supervisor. And at times a dog was not available when needed.

So the police union, the El Cerrito Police Employees' Association, raised enough funds through a crab feed and public donations to pay for the $10,000 cost of the dog and about $10,000 more for the training, Leone said.

The department had high standards, seeking a dog who could be aggressive enough to fight crime and "go to schools and let kids play with him, basically a social dog," said Leone.

A dog recruiter engaged by the police department looked at and rejected at least 18 other dogs before selecting King, Leone said.

Leone cautioned that King's friendly side, while well developed, cannot be relied on in uncontrolled encounters. "He is a working dog, so if you see him in public, you shouldn't just approach him," Leone said.

Before King came to El Cerrito, he had a different name, "Targa." He was renamed King in honor of Bruce King, a 14-year city employee who was murdered in April last year. In April this year, the city opened the Bruce King Memorial Dog Park, named in his memory.

The new police dog was also much thinner when he first arrived in the city, weighing 68 pounds, with his ribs showing. Now, thanks to a hearty diet of Royal Canin dog food and rigorous training that included dragging around a tire, he's a muscular 83 pounds.

Leone said he was delighted to get the assignment as King's handler.

"I had always wanted to be a canine officer, even before I was a cop," said Leone. "I thought it was the coolest job in the world." Leone, 38, joined El Cerrito police as a reserve officer in 2001 and became a regular officer the following year.

When King's not on duty, he lives with Leone, who also has another German shepherd, 7-year-old Athena.

Even though King won't have his formal introduction to the public until Monday night, he's already receiving an enthusiastic response from residents who spot him.

"The thing that surprised me the most is how excited the community is to see him," said Leone.

Now the police union is planning on a second dog, with another crab-feed fundraiser set for Jan. 28 at the Community Center, Leone said.

In the meantime, K-9 Officer King is fulfilling the purpose for which he has been trained from birth. And since he was raised in Germany, he learned to respond to instructions in German, meaning that Leone had to learn some German to communicate with King.

"They say it's easier to teach me than it is to teach him the commands in English," Leone said.

So, instead saying, "Stay," to King, Leone says, "Blieb."