K-9 officer celebrates retirement after 6 years of service

• Bear, a German Shepherd K-9 police dog, received a retirement party after six years in the force.
• He joined the force in April 2015 after a local resto pulled out funds to help the Sheriff’s office get the dog.
• Bear has a handful of skills in tracking missing people, drugs, as well as helping people with mental illness.

Bear, a German Shepherd K-9 police dog, got a retirement party after six years in the force at the Taylor County Sheriff’s office in Central Texas.

Bear joined the squad in April 2015, after a local restaurant, Moe’s Southwest Grill, raised funds amounting to $8,000 to help the Sheriff’s office acquire the dog.

Since Bear started service, he had been constantly lauded for his incredibly helpful skills in tracking down missing children and elderly people. More than the sniffing role to locate the lost, Bear was also a handful in helping people recover from mental health issues.

Bear also was an expert in sniffing and tracking drugs, as he was trained to identify cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine.

With his skills, Bear worked side by side with the Abilene Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the US Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as other law enforcement agencies.

The K-9 officer also worked with two deputies — Deputy Weyland Cooley and later on with Deputy Brandon Abbott. Upon retirement, Bear would live with Deputy Brandon for the rest of his life.

Deputy Brandon can never be happier to have Bear not as a police dog, but as a pet this time.

“He was a good tool that we utilized,” Deputy Brandon said. “It’s going to be different working without a dog, but it’ll open different doors. And at the end of the day, I get to keep him. So, it’s not like I’m losing him.”

Bear’s retirement party was made memorable for him, where his colleagues expressed gratitude for his faithful service. All of his accomplishments did not go unnoticed, and for sure Bear felt all the love and appreciation! 

Source: MSN