From Kim Minugh:

Editor's note: Notebook is an occasional series on slices of life found by The Bee's police reporters and editors.

Meet the Sacramento Police Deparment's new celebrity duo: Officer John Azevedo and his four-legged partner, Blitz.

The K9 team is featured in a series of Eukanuba dog food ads hitting magazines this month, including Food & Wine, Runner's World and Field and Stream.

Above a photo of smiling Azevedo and a very obsessed-looking Blitz - perhaps there's a bowl of Eukanuba behind the camera - is the text "Protecting Blitz isn't a luxury. It's a duty. That's why we feed him Eukanuba." In another version of the ad, the text reads "Strong defenses keep Blitz ready to roll. That's why we trust only Eukanuba."

The ads coincide with a 3-and-a-half minute commercial that can be seen on You Tube featuring Blitz at home with Azevedo's family and on the streets with the 8-year veteran cop (to see the clip, click here). In that clip, Azevedo talks about Blitz's need for a healthy, high-calorie food like Eukanuba, as well as the dog's "very finicky digestive system" (ew).

Then he gushes - and he's not usually one to gush - that the 5-year-old German shepherd "means the world to me."

"He's more than a partner. He's a friend, he's a companion, he's a family member," Azevedo says in the commercial. "He keeps me safe on the street."

But the K9 duo isn't selling out, said Sgt. Steve Oliveira, who leads the K9 unit. The department received no money for being a part of the Eukanuba campaign - department management OK'd Azevedo's participation on those terms, Oliveira said.

Instead, the department benefits from a positive portrayal of its K9 unit, Oliveira said. Oh yeah, and they got a couple coupons for dog food out of it, courtesy of Eukanuba.

Already, Oliveira is fielding supportive phone calls about the ads.

"It's a good PR piece for us," he said.

The partnership began when Oliveira approached Eukanuba about being a sponsor of a Western States Police Canine Association competition hosted by SPD in 2008. The pet food company then invited some of the department's K9 teams to perform demonstrations at a dog show in Long Beach, and later, to be a part of their campaign.

Oliveira saw an opportunity to promote Azevedo and Blitz, who were named the top law enforcement K9 team in the West after 10 competitions last year.

The duo, who have been working together two years, won honors as "top competitors" in 2007 after besting other teams in agility, obedience, search and protection. They earned that title again in 2008, as well as best overall team.

Oliveira said Eukanuba sent a film crew from New York - complete with a makeup artist - to Azevedo's home for a three-day shoot. They even returned after not getting all the footage they wanted, Oliveira said.

Much to his chagrin, Azevedo had to take down Christmas decorations for the "season-neutral" shoot, Oliveira said.

"(The crew) scratched up his lineoleum floor," Oliveira said. Ribbing Azevedo, he added: "He never stopped talking about that."

And, in case you're wondering, no false advertising here: Azevedo really does feed Blitz Eukanuba. Most of the K9 unit uses that brand as well, Oliveira said.