Scooby (formerly known as Homer) met and trained with his handler, Officer Larry Zacarese of the New York City Police Department at the beginning of November 2004. It took about three days for Scooby to realize that Larry was his new handler. I saw the exact moment that the light bulb went on over Scooby's head--it was remarkable. They clicked perfectly after that. Scooby officially joined the NYPD on December 8, 2004. He got called out twice on his first day. Both were criminal tracks. While neither suspect was apprehended, Scooby did help the NYPD gather more information about the second suspect--information they wouldn't have had without him.