Local police dog heads to Super Bowl 50.

A local bomb-sniffing police dog is making its way up to the big leagues.

The FBI has selected Sarik, a 3-year-old German shepherd from tiny Del Rey Oaks, along with 200 other police dogs, to protect the public at Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara early next month.

“This is huge!” says Del Rey Oaks Police Chief Ron Langford. He says it’s the biggest event the small police force’s canine unit has ever covered.

Sarik was acquired by the city after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing in an effort to protect the region from possible explosives during crowded local events, Langford says. K-9 Officer Chris Salopek, who works with Sarik, pitched the idea to Langford of getting the dog.

“I was absolutely up for it,” Langford says. “It’s the only thing capable of clearing an area quickly if there is a danger.”

Sarik is reportedly the only police dog with bomb-sniffing abilities in Monterey County, and both Langford and Salopek believe he is the only one on the Central Coast. Due to the scarce number of police dogs with this talent, the odds for Sarik going to the biggest sporting event of the year improved.

The exact role Sarik will play at the big game remains unclear. “I don’t know and I don’t want to know,” Langford says.

But Salopek will head out to Santa Clara with Sarik two weeks prior to the game on Feb. 7, to sniff out danger during the festivities leading up to the event.

“We are still trying to figure it out, but to be part of something like this is pretty cool,” Salopek says.