After eight years of service, K-9 Mace of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office retired on Sept. 10. According to the SCSO, Mace was acquired from Europe and introduced into the K-9 unit in October 2013.
Mace is a full-service Dutch shepherd that was born in August 2011. Shepherds are frequently trained as police K-9s, according to the American Shepherd Dog Association.
“He’s 10-years-old now. He can still work and still does his job well, but at 10, he’s on the downside, and we like to have the dogs have some good years just as dogs,” said Sgt. Dave Clark, SCSO K-9 Unit. “Rather than working them until they’re injured, (we want them to) enjoy being a dog at the house.”
According to Clark, the procedure of retiring a K-9 includes expressing one’s reservations about the dog to the administration. In Mace’s case, it was his age, as well as their reasons for believing the dog should be retired.
Throughout his career, Mace has worked with sheriff’s deputy Selby Franklin. Mace was a dual-purpose police canine that, along with Franklin, excelled in odor detection.
“Which means he was a narcotic dog,” Clark said. “He also did building searching, areas searches, tracking and of course criminal apprehension.”
Mace went through frequent weekly training for the screening of restricted drugs to stay up with these specific demands and the standards of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
Mace’s career highlights, according to Clark, include discovering four kilos of heroin during a traffic check on the highway some years ago. He has also used tracking to catch a number of offenders on the street.
Franklin will remain a member of the K-9 team once Mace retires and will work with his third dog. Franklin will be partnered with a new Belgian Malinois named Butan.
For first-time handlers, new K-9 team training generally involves 480 hours of training with the dog or 80 hours if the officer has previously handled a dog. The specifics of training differ based on the dog’s specialty, but Butan will be trained in drugs, much like Mace.
Following Mace’s retirement, he will live with Franklin and be treated like any other dog for the remainder of his life.
“Deputy Franklin is an excellent handler with him (Mace), and I’m just glad to see Franklin getting another dog and staying in the unit,” Clark said.
