K9 dog for retirement: $19k. Doghouse $3,245. Sheriff says rumors more bark than bite.

The dog's $19,000. The doghouse is extra. According to Sheriff Donald Smith, that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

In last Wednesday's meeting of the Augusta County Board of Supervisors, Scott Cline announced that the group trying to raise $19,000 to retire K9 dog Rico and release him to his former handler Dennis Reynolds had "exceeded that goal while we were sitting here tonight." He said "what is disturbing" was that Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith was now asking for additional money so that former county deputy Dennis Reynolds could keep the carport built on his property with county funds. "Now Donald's here, maybe he can address that," Cline said.

The sheriff, who was at the meeting, did not respond. Public comments are not meant as town hall conversations, and are to be directed to the Chair, so it would have been unusual for the sheriff to answer Cline.

In a statement released Friday night, though, the sheriff said that the carport covering Rico's enclosure had been discussed with Reynolds weeks ago in mid-July before the dog was picked up from Reynold's property, and that the sheriff had told Reynolds he would figure out the depreciated value of the carport and let Reynolds know the additional cost.

In a letter provided to Reynolds on Wednesday, the price for the carport, purchased in 2018, came in at $3,245. That's the base cost of $4,910, less annual depreciation of $333 for five years (total $1,665).

Smith wrote in the letter that he would need to know by Friday, Aug. 18 if Reynolds wanted to keep the carport.

Meanwhile, Rico's potential date for retirement, and return to Reynolds, is "on or close to Tuesday" Aug. 15, according to the sheriff's press release.

The sheriff also addressed "untrue and misleading information about Rico’s care and condition" he had seen on social media over the last few weeks. "Rico is happy and well taken care of by his ACSO family. Rico is not currently living in a small crate nor is he confined, alone, or forgotten. ACSO staff have collectively fed, exercised, played, and taken him out on breaks since he has been here at the Sheriff’s Office. Rico has his own vehicle, and many days he has spent time out riding the roads with deputies.

"To be clear, he was not working, but simply riding to keep his routine normal. Furthermore, he is in the exact same kennel that he lived in at the previous handler’s home; the only difference now is that he is inside the Sheriff’s Office in the air conditioning versus being outside in the heat."

Smith wrote that when Reynolds left the Sheriff's Office in July, the two talked about how the dog and kennel would be picked up, and that the carport could remain with Reynolds at the depreciated cost, which he later provided in a letter to Reynolds on August 9, before the county board meeting.

"There is a false narrative circulating stating that Rico is being used to force former Deputy Dennis Reynolds to pay for the carport. This is simply not true. Reynolds knew on 7/13/23 that all county assets would be removed from his personal property."

The press release also says that the carport issue has nothing to do with Rico's retirement.

“My hope is that everyone realizes that Rico will be retired very soon, will be cared for in the meantime, but the legal process must be completed prior to his retirement,” Smith was quoted in the release.

Reynolds responds

Left out of the controversy since Wednesday night is the man at the center of it. The News Leader reached out to Dennis Reynolds for comment Saturday morning, and he responded quickly.

"I haven’t been paying attention to the media much," he wrote. "It’s stressful and I’ve found a lot of folks don’t know what they were talking about." He said he had thought that the original cost covered the kennel, but that may have just been his assumption. "But you know what you get for assuming."

He didn't think the sheriff's office was trying to hold onto Rico or trying to get more money, though he felt the timing was "weird."

As far as the carport goes, he said, "I would like to keep it but right now I’m unsure if I’m financially able."

Finally, Reynolds commented on the rumors and responses on social media. "It does appear that some people are using my situation for political reasons and spreading things that aren’t completely true.

"I don’t have anything bad to say about the sheriff's office. I have a lot of friends and people I depended on there," he said.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Who's in the doghouse? Sheriff says kennel controversy more bark than bite.