Career of K-9 Officer Rex celebrated Saturday in Carson City
The Carson City Sheriff's Office celebrated the retirement of one of its own Saturday afternoon at the Nevada Humane Society in Carson City.
K-9 Officer Rex, a six-year law enforcement veteran and partner to Carson City Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Pullen, was honored for his service to the community with a retirement party that included presentation of a plaque containing his badge by Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong.
"Today is all about Rex, who has served the department now for six years and has just done a fantastic job," Sheriff Furlong said. "Rex has been in our schools, on demonstrations, and more importantly, he's been on a hell of a lot of calls and discovered an awful lot of drugs in our town."
A Belgian Malinois, Rex has lived and worked with Deputy Pullen since he was 15 months young, serving the Carson City Sheriff's Office (CCSO) on both patrol and the narcotics task force. Specially trained in narcotics detection, Rex completed 1,062 searches leading to hundreds of illegal drug arrests.
Epilepsy and small brain mass diagnoses have forced seven-and-a-half year-old Rex into early retirement, said Deputy Pullen, a handler for 11 years and 16-year CCSO veteran who adopted him permanently into his family for $1.
Rex is now on a daily regimen of phenobarbitol to control his seizures, Pullen said.
"He's adjusting to being at home really well," Pullen said. "He's always been a part of the family and will continue to be."
Sheriff Furlong said Rex and the other K-9 Officers now have comprehensive medical benefits for life, thanks to the efforts of two municipal employees, Carson City Human Resources Director Melanie Bruketta and Carson City Risk Manager Cecilia Meyer.
"They worked so hard to ensure that Rex has lifetime medical benefits," Furlong said. "We want to make sure the rest of his life is as wonderful as he has been for us."
On Saturday, Furlong recognized Bruketta and Meyer with plaques of appreciation for their tireless efforts on behalf of the CCSO K-9 officers, all of whom will have their medical needs supplied for the duration of their lives.
The average career of a K-9 officer is between six and eight years, Furlong said.
Saturday's celebration was not a send-off for Rex, but rather an acknowledgement of his contributions and an affirmation that CCSO and the Carson City community have his back now.
"It's time for Rex to enjoy life and live comfortably," Furlong said.
Prior to his retirement, Rex was one of five K-9 Officers in service within CCSO. A new K-9 unit was recently added to the department, increasing the number of units from four to five. K-9 Officer Beck and his handler, Deputy Viglietta, are the newest additions to the CCSO K-9 units.
Rex's replacement on the force is K-9 Officer Blue, who now works with Deputy Pullen on the streets and resides at home with his senior mentor, Rex.
"Rex has been a community-oriented dog, one of the best dogs that we've ever had," Deputy Pullen said. "As a dual-purpose dog, he has helped me along with other deputies remain safe on the street."
A dual-purpose K-9 Officer is one that provides protection and uses its nose for drug detection or tracking, Pullen said. Single-purpose K-9 are used for sniffing only, he said.
All of the K-9 Officers serving CCSO are dual-purposes dogs, Sheriff Furlong said, and all were carefully selected to also be approachable by the public as community ambassadors.
Furlong said that characteristic is a key part of the community policing philosophy of CCSO, and K-9 Officer Rex was the embodiment of an ideal working law enforcement dog.
"We want all of our K-9s to be pet-friendly like Rex," he said. "That's by design and how we pick our dogs."
A special donation fund is available at the Carson City Sheriff's Office to help support the K-9 Officers in service to the community. Anyone can make a donation, the proceeds of which go directly to fund the needs for training and gear.
"Those monies are specifically dedicated to the K-9 program and in support of it," Sheriff Furlong said.
For more information or to make a donation, visit the Carson City Sheriff's Office at 911 East Musser Street or call 775-887-2500.
Like and follow the CCSO K-9 units on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/ccsok9/
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