Ada County Sheriff’s Office drug-sniffing K-9 dog retires after lymphoma diagnosis
A four-legged member of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office retired last week after being diagnosed with lymphoma.
The K-9 unit dog — a 4-year-old German shepherd named Shock — was forced into retirement after the diagnosis, according to a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office on Monday. Shock’s handler, Deputy Morgan Case, noticed a lump on the dog’s lymph nodes before a veterinarian confirmed the lump was a tumor.
Since joining the sheriff’s office in 2017, Shock had been a drug-sniffing dog and was used to arrest people. The sheriff’s office said Shock was highly trainable and had outstanding “hunt drive,” which made him good at capturing people evading arrest or detecting out drugs.
The K-9 was also used with security at the Ada County Courthouse and helped patrol deputies if another K-9 was not available. Shock passed his yearly K-9 certification in March.
Shock was described in the Facebook post as an “all-around friendly and inquisitive pooch when he isn’t focused on working.”
With the dog’s career in law enforcement now over, Shock will spend the rest of his life as Case’s personal dog. The sheriff’s office said Shock is still a big, energetic dog, and if you were to see Shock, it could be difficult to tell anything was wrong.
“We want him to have as much regular dog life as possible before he gets too sick, so he has retired immediately,” the sheriff’s office said in the post.
