Woodstock grants K9 officer an honored retirement

A Woodstock Police Department veteran credited with assisting in hundreds of drug arrests, tracking multiple criminal suspects, and locating missing children and seniors has been granted an honored retirement by the City Council.

K9 Officer Dugan, a nine-year-old Belgian Malinois, has served police as a cross-trained narcotics/tracking dog for seven years and has shown periodic tenderness and symptoms of arthritis, mainly in his left front paw, for three years, Police Chief Calvin Moss said in a report to the council.

“Dugan still has the heart to continue working, but his working life is growing shorter,” Moss said.

Moss asked the council to allow Dugan to retire “while he still has the physical ability to enjoy retirement as a non-working dog for the first time in his life.” Dugan will live with retired Cherokee County EMS Chief Danny West in Waleska.

Dugan will be replaced by a dog cross-trained in narcotics, tracking and patrol duties, paid for using Woodstock Public Safety Foundation funds at no cost to the city, Moss said.

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