How can a police department humanize its mission and attract fans from around the world?

Easy. Just create a blog featuring a cute, six-week-old German shepherd puppy as your newest recruit.

In the Puppy Diary, the as-yet unnamed dog tracks his life using first-person narrative as he perpares to enter police dog school for the Tayside police in Dundee, Scotland.

“Despite taking a tinkle where I shouldn’t have yesterday, it would appear that I’m still a popular little lad and news of my appointment has travelled across the globe. My agent Sarah in the Force Media Office said that I had received quite a sack of fan mail and e-mails from as far afield as America and Canada,” reads one of the puppy’s posts.

Another measure of success: A United Kingdom pet food manufacturer, Royal Canin, is giving the puppy a year’s supply of food.

Now, here’s a government agency that understands how to use social media to its advantage.