Crime & Safety

2 Four-Legged Heroes Retire Tonight

Two K-9 members of the Douglas County Sheriff's Department will retire today, during a meet and greet held from 6 to 8 p.m.

Two of Douglas County's K-9 heroes will retire tonight at a Sheriff's Department meet and greet, held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the new Sheriff's Office Building. Charon has been the loyal partner of Deputy Clint Adams for five years. And Falco has been Deputy Josh Skinner's four-legged partner for two years.

Both are Belgian Malinois breeds and both were used for dual purposes: narcotics and patrol.

Charon will have to end his duties at the Sheriff's Department because he is eight years old and beginning to go blind.

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Falco is only about six years old but has been diagnosed with a degenerative disease: bilateral valgus deformity.

"His front feet don't rotate right and he can't run without pain anymore," Lt. Michael Barnhill said, Douglas County Sheriff's Department. "It's just not fair to work a dog with pain."

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After the retirement ceremony, there will be a K-9 Police Dog demonstration and meet and greet.

Both dogs will retire into the welcome hands and homes of their own handlers.

Deputies Adams and Skinner will be headed to a kennel in Pennsylvania soon, where they will train and bond with their new partners for four weeks. The dogs will then come back to Douglasville and do a little more training before they start chasing bad guys.

Related Douglasville Patch stories:

Police K-9 Profile: Josh and Falco

Police K-9 Profile: Clint and Charon


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