Retirement or reassignment? Augusta County Sheriff's Office mulls fate of K9 Rico
VERONA — Rico, the service dog for the Augusta County Sheriff's Office K9 unit, may be getting a new handler. Or perhaps the 5-year-old dog will get to retire. The decision seems to hang on if Blue Ridge Canine Services can raise $19,000 by the end of the month.
Purchased by the Sheriff's Office in December, 2018, Rico has had just one handler in his four-plus years in the K9 unit. Now that handler has left the department. Sheriff Donald Smith said only that the K9 officer "separated from the ACSO on July 13, 2023," and that any additional information is a personnel matter and can't be released.
Per the Sheriff's Office website, Dennis Reynolds was the previous handler. He posted on Facebook, "Any support would be greatly appreciated I miss my boy! I’m ready for him to come home."
Most comments on the Sheriff's Office Facebook page urged the department to retire Rico.
"Retire him with his handler," wrote Kim Grant. "I’m a taxpayer and I would say that most would agree he’s served his community and needs to be where he feels comfort and loved to live out his life."
Cindy Steele agreed.
"This K9 needs to be with his handler and their family," she posted. "My dad was a handler for the VA State Police. It’s important to keep this bond for the K9, the handler and the family! Please be compassionate and understanding during this process."
Smith said his plan was to reassign Rico to a new handler, but the local rescue group approached him, asking for the opportunity to raise funds so Rico could take early retirement and live with his former handler.
"While I understand the special bonds that can form between handlers and K9s, a large amount of taxpayer funds are involved in the procurement and training of these unique dogs," Smith said. "I do not feel that I would be a good steward of taxpayer’s money by retiring K9 Rico while he is still a valuable part of our team."
He's given Blue Ridge Canine Services until Aug. 30 to raise the funds, which would then go to purchasing a new service dog.
"Our K9s and their handlers are currently scheduled for a specialized training school in September and I will need to be able to obtain our new K9 before the training begins," Smith said.
The contact for the rescue is Amy Swope at (434) 987-1572. Per Smith, money will not be collected until the pledges reach the total amount needed for the new K9 purchase.
Kyle Heyen, a police K9 consultant with Detector Dogs International, said it can be tricky to assign a K9 to a new handler after spending five years with one handler.
"Some dogs take to it, boom, not an issue," Heyen said. "Some dogs are, 'Wait a minute, I don't know this person.'"
Rico is a Belgian Malinois that was born in Holland. He will turn 6 later this year. Heyen said those dogs typically stay healthier and live longer than a German Shepard.
"I've seen Malinioses who were 12, 13 and were working," Heyen said.
Mike Gould is a certified canine trainer and examiner of police patrol, tracking, and scent detection dogs in New York.
"The bottom line is the dog can be retrained," he said. "But it's a general courtesy that the family of the dog is allowed to adopt him if they want to. But there are many variables."
Rico did live at the handler's residence, although, according to Smith, he stayed outside in a kennel provided by the Sheriff's Office.
Gould did say the training for a dog is sometimes longer than a human through the police academy, so he understands why a department would be concerned about training a new dog.
"It's pretty intense," he said. "It's a long process to train a dog with a handler."
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— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Retirement or reassignment? Augusta County Sheriff's Office mulls fate of K9 Rico
