‘Windy’ the Sheriff ‘s K9 is retiring

‘Windy’ will be cashing in on her pup pension (dogs have pensions, right?), and retiring from the force.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department made the announcement on Thursday. The bloodhound worked with the Department for the last five years, coming on board in May 2014 at the ripe age of seven weeks.

The retirement went into effect on July 10 and was due to an unforeseen medical illness.

Windy had been partnered with Deputy Robert Ochoa during her time with the Department. Her work brough her far and wide; “from the mountains of Los Angeles County to the desert of Riverside County, to the swamps of South Carolina, and everywhere in between,” according to a Riverside County Sheriff’s news release.

In RSO’s announcement, some more details were provided about Windy’s prior medical issues and retirement.

During a training seminar in Orange County, Windy became ill and was rushed to California Veterinary Specialists in Murrieta where she met Dr. Lisa Prior (Internal Medicine). Dr. Prior had a special connection with Windy as she had helped Windy on a search in the Ortega Mountains a year prior. During the search, Dr. Prior was on horseback and helped locate the missing person! Dr. Prior put in countless hours to help Windy and was able to get her back on the road to recovery and back to work. Once back at work, Windy hit the ground running, helping her patrol brothers and sisters locate four missing persons and one violent felon.

Unfortunately, Windy ended up falling ill again after returning to service, this time with Valley Fever. So the Department decided to give the hard-working pup some much-needed rest.

RSO has its own non-profit which helps take care of its retired canines; to donate, go to http://www.riversidesheriffk9team.com/donate.html. If you have any questions about donating or the non-profit, direct them to donations@riversidesheriff.org.