Meet Philadelphia police's first Black female K-9 sergeant in the K-9 unit

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- She's not just serving and protecting, Sgt. Sharone Johnson is a woman on a mission to inspire.

She and her K-9 partner, Red, officially hit the streets in January, but she's also forging a path as the Philadelphia Police Department's first Black female K-9 sergeant.

Sgt. Johnson and her partner Red have been together for about a year.

The 2-year-old K-9 came from Holland, and the pair have their own language.

"I kept a lot of the commands in Dutch. So only Red will know actually what I am telling him to do if I give him a command," she said. "We do article searches, building searches, obedience."

Red did 400 hours of specialty "sense school," being trained in explosives, and the pair just finished 560 hours of patrol school last month.

"Now we're on patrol. We're in the streets. Waiting for 911 calls, responding to 911 calls."

It's a service, Johnson says, she's always wanted to do, and now she's the Philadelphia Police Department's first Black female sergeant in the K-9 unit, a post that didn't come right away.

"I didn't get here on the first try, I didn't get here on the second try," Johnson said. "I stayed focused, and prayed up and waited my turn... and it finally came."

Johnson gave a message to children hoping to pursue their dream careers.

"The sky is the limit, whatever you want to do, you do it."