By PoliceOne Staff
JACKSON, Miss. — A K-9 officer has been demoted after he gave his retired K-9 to an animal shelter, KCCI reports.
The dog, Ringo, was retired in November after serving as a narcotics K-9 for almost 10 years.
According to Randy Hare of the Alpha Canine Training Center, officers were expected to take care of Ringo after he retired from the force, but what happened to him isn’t uncommon.
“A lot of times they're treated like equipment, and when they're treated like equipment, sometimes they're disposed of like equipment," Hare said.
Hare, who originally trained Ringo, ended up adopting him after he found out he was at the animal shelter.