Police detective demoted after dropping his retired K-9 at an animal shelter
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
JACKSON, Miss. — The chief of police here is checking on the whereabouts of all the force's retired police dogs after one of his department's dog handlers dropped off a retired K-9 at a suburban animal shelter.
Detective Carl Ellis was the handler for Ringo, a yellow Labrador retriever who had worked nine years on the narcotics team of the Jackson Police Department.
When Ringo and a fellow K-9 officer that trained at the same time, a German shepherd named Alpha, retired in October, department officials thought Ringo was going to live with his handler. Alpha retired at Detective Anthony Fox's house.
Instead, police Chief James Davis learned that Ringo was adopted from the Webster Animal Shelter in Madison, Miss., about 12 miles northeast of Jackson. Someone had tipped off the man who trained Ringo and Alpha a decade ago, Randy Hare, who decided to adopt Ringo, The New York Times reported.
Davis demoted Ellis to officer and reassigned him to patrol duty, Sgt. Roderick Holmes said. Ellis was not available for comment.
"The Jackson Police Department respects and holds our canines with high regard just as we do any other officer within our department," said a statement issued last week from the department. "They are family, and we do not feel they deserve anything less than a loving home in retirement."
An exact number of living retired K-9 officers was not made available.
In 2000, Congress passed and then-President Bill Clinton signed Robby's Law to allow handlers to adopt their retired military and police dogs. Before then, these dogs were usually euthanized.
A dog's handler is given first priority to adopt.
Ringo and Alpha had sniffed out drugs and were used for search and rescue and tracking.
"They served the city very well — hundreds of thousands of dollars, uncountable seizures with narcotics," Fox said at the time of their retirement. "They can be a dog now."
Both golden Labs and German shepherds live an average of 8 to 12 years, the American Kennel Club said.
Across the USA every year, more than 10,000 dogs who work for local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies are retired because of age, according to the Retired Police Canine Foundation, a Yaphank, New York-based nonprofit that helps with veterinary and other expenses for families that adopt retired police dogs. Many end up in animal shelters, but the charity does not have a tally.
In July, a Hinds County Sheriff's Department K-9 died of a heat stroke when a deputy left the Belgian Malinois inside his department's SUV that was running for about an hour while he was having lunch. The 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe shut down and the vehicle overheated.
Jackson's police department also is drafting requirements for the welfare of retired K-9s to ensure the best care possible, according to its statement.
This makes me wonder about this handler and his dog. What type of relationship could they have had if he could simply drop the dog at a shelter. This breaks my heart.
I've known several Police K-9 officers, and during the training, the bonding that goes on between dog and officer is remarkable. The fact that this officer was able to simply abandon the dog to the animal shelter is horrifying. Most police dog training includes parts that prevent other people from giving the dog orders, which would normally insure no adoption for him and a short future until euthanasia.
Ellis may still be a police officer, but that act has brought his actual humanity into question. Cudo's to the chief for taking action!
Exactly why I was so bothered by this. It's incredible to me that any officer would ditch their K-9 dog. None that I know would.....none.
This is really sad. The "handler" should have found a good home Officer Ringo.
This A hole should have lost his job and his retirement.
Why did the handler agree to adopt the dog if he had no intention of keeping him? I wouldn't have a problem with this if the handler had said no and the department could have taken steps to find the dog a good home. Putting the dog in a shelter is not the answer.
I imagine the handler agreed to take the dog because it's normal protocol and maybe they knew they would be viewed differently if they admitted they didn't want the dog. That is the only thing that makes sense to me since they do have a process in place if the handler cannot or will not adopt the dog.
I just wonder what kind of working relationship they had if they didn't bond and the dog was discarded after retiring.
I had a friend who was a handler and his dog was part of his family. He loved that damn dog and cried when he had to give it back after he quit the force.
A local K-9 officer was injured protecting his human partners - fell through a ceiling while going after a suspect who was hiding in an attic. He had surgery and sort-of recovered at his handler's home, but had to be put down a few years later due to residual effects. She was devastated - she'd done his physical therapy with him and everything. She loved that dog.
Exactly what I'm talking about. These handlers bond with their dog partners. So I'm baffled that this handler could drop the dog at a shelter.
The force has procedures in place to handle situations like this. The handler didn't want anyone to know he didn't want the dog.
I know I keep repeating this but what type of working relationship did the dog and handler have, I wonder. I hope the handler didn't mistreat the dog during their time working together.
I just find it weird.
I can't get my head around this...I have to agree with PJ, what if any relationship did this guy have with his dog...
From the article.
Many end up in shelters!!!!! WTF.
That's sad, but maybe there's something else going on that we don't know about. I thought working police dogs lived with their handlers. If the dog is already living with the handler, then what's the problem after the dog is retired?
Very sad story. I'm especially fond of service animals...such loyalty, so this just blows my mind. Kudos to Mr. Hare for taking Ringo in. As far as the cop goes...maybe should force him to retire then send him to a shelter or put him up for adoption!
Who would adopt the cop?
Exactly!
I'm sure that this guy would adopt the cop, who would be a tasty snack for him.
"pass the salt"