SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 10, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Department of Wildlife Resources is announcing 9-year-old K-9 officer Sam to retire after six hard years on the job.
If you believe the old adage about dog years versus human years, Sam spent 42 human years on the job, and is retiring at age 63.
Nine is the normal K-9 retirement age, a Utah DWR statement says.
“Although Sam can still work, she has slowed down a bit. (But she still has the same drive as always.) This is a normal retirement age for our K-9s — we want them to be able to retire without having too much stress on their bodies.
“Sam works really hard and has had so many good cases. She started to get a little slower on the extensive open-area searches and big tracking cases, and we could tell she was struggling with energy. That’s when we started considering retirement for her.”
Early in her career, Sam excelled in her detection training and article searches, the statement says.
“However, in recent years, she transitioned to tracking, and that’s where she truly shone. One of Sam’s most legendary cases was when she uncovered hidden fish in an ice tent, leading to a successful investigation. Another memorable moment was when Sam tracked a fleeing suspect from a wrecked car, hours after the incident. Her tracking skills were instrumental in locating the suspect.
“These are just a few examples from Sam’s remarkable career.”
In Sam’s retirement, “we think she’ll enjoy her twilight years as a family hunting dog,” the DWR statement says. “Her love for swimming is unmatched. The conservation officer she worked with would often find it hard to keep her out of the water.
“As long as she has these simple joys in her life, she’ll be a happy camper. She’s currently living with her officer, who just trained her replacement, Rooster. Both dogs have been together since Rooster was 7 weeks old. Sam is a great mentor who is fearless in correcting him. Here’s to many happy years of retirement for this hard-working K-9!”
