K9 Steele Retires From Travis County Sheriff's Office

AUSTIN, TX — Despite a tendency to bark orders, carelessly shed hair, incessantly pant heavily and loudly slurp water after each law enforcement escapade, a member of the Travis County Sheriff's Office was recently warmly honored at a retirement ceremony. After seven years of faithful service to the law enforcement agency, officials bid farewell to K9 Steele, officials told Patch.

The canine's duties included narcotics detection, suspect apprehension and tracking, the sheriff's office said. Steele also aided in searching for missing people while taking on both patrol and SWAT duties, officials added. His derring-do made him something of a celebrity at schools during sheriff's office dog-and-pony (minus the pony) shows to showcase the work of law enforcement to young audiences. Steele heightened his profile at HOA events and other community activities, the sheriff's office added.

But Steele recently achieve the mandatory retirement age for police canines, and he's now headed for well-deserved rest and relaxation. Officials reported Steele had two handlers during his service, and is enjoying the prospect of living out his retirement years in the home of his original handler.

Steele was beloved member of the rank and file, despite a tendency to bark orders to human colleagues. Photo courtesy of the Travis County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office said two young upstarts, Shadow and Radar, are now eager to follow in Steele's paw steps. Shadow is an 18-month-old Shepherd/Malinois while Radar is a 14-month-old Belgian Malinois. The Malinois breed works well for law enforcement, officials noted, because they have a strong protective instinct, are fiercely loyal to their owners and have a strong drive and motivation to pursue a task.

Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez could always count on Steele to doggedly pursue the bad guys with nary a paws, um, pause as illustrated in even the most mundane of demonstrations showcasing his special set of skills. Photo courtesy of the Travis County Sheriff's Association.

Shadow and Radar are currently in basic training and will be serving on patrol soon, officials reported. Shadow will fill the vacancy left by Steele and Radar will fill another open position, officials added. The two rookies join four other specialized K9s assigned to patrol, two for each shift.

Congratulations, Steele! Now go chase those pesky squirrels menacing gardens and intruding on residents' bird feeders! You have certainly earned such quality-of-life pursuits.