Retired K9 and his replacement learn to co-exist

Odyssey

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It’s a living arrangement that makes “The Odd Couple” look like a perfect match: A recent police force retiree sharing a house with the young rookie who took over his job.

In this case, the seemingly awkward scenario involves two German shepherds: 11-year-old Matt, who was retired by the Waukegan Police Department earlier this month, and Grizzly, a nearly 2-year-old K-9 officer whose first day was June 12............

http://newssun.suntimes.com/20841626-417/retired-k9-and-his-replacement-learn-to-co-exist.html
 
Awesome - Yeah its sometimes difficult for the 'retiree' to understand why 'Dad' isn't taking them to work anymore. Even at retirement age, they are usually more than willing to continue working.

This is my 3yr old K9 "Pedro" Duel Patrol/Explosive Detection a few weeks ago during re-certs.
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My Boss's Retired K9 "Enzo" still has the drive to work as he was retired early, he's 11 yrs old now. Here's 'Enzo' back in his days at Great Lakes, this picture was taken as a joke and now has circulated around online
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Just curious, but what is their normal retirement age? And what would prompt an early retirement? Awesome line of work regardless!
 
Just curious, but what is their normal retirement age? And what would prompt an early retirement? Awesome line of work regardless!

It all depends on the individual dog, but typically linked to health issues - when they're in-service they need to beable to perform at 100% so a lot retire between 7-9yrs. 'Enzo' retired early because my boss was also leaving the department and they were switching some things around. But they can work longer.

This past week Hoffman Estates PD retired their current K9 "Bundo" -I believe he's about to turn 11yrs. We trained regularly w/ that K9 Team (as well as several other local K9 Teams) so I was there for the Retirement Ceremony. 'Bundo' has gotta be one of the fluffiest K9s I've seen lol.
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