McNeal Elementary students fetch lessons with K-9 Unit

Ten-year-old Amanda Perez ignored her friends' conversation as she fixated on the German shepherd who sat as still as she did.

Rocky, the nearly 6-year-old K-9 deputy, didn't disappoint. He leaped in the air to retrieve a toy his handler, Tom Franklin, held under his bicep.

"Good boy," Franklin said, while patting Rocky on the head.

Perez, a fifth-grader at Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School, and her classmates enjoyed one-on-one time with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit March 15. Six dogs and their handlers showed off stunts for the students, who have been raising money and collecting supplies for the unit since December.

The children collected more than 40 rubber Kong toys for the dogs, and donated items to K-9s that are serving overseas with military men and women.