Sheriff’s K-9 ‘Windy’ dies just weeks after retirement

K-9 Windy, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department human-tracking bloodhound, has died, a little less than three weeks after her retirement, the department announced Thursday.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that K-9 Windy has lost her battle with her illness and passed away today,” wrote Deputy Robyn Flores in a news release.

Windy started her career at RSO in May 2014 at the young age of 7 weeks old, and in her five-year career, helped solve numerous violent crimes and reunite many families. According to RSO, Windy amassed a total of 50 documented finds and located numerous investigative leads.

“She had developed a reputation throughout the Inland Empire and surrounding law enforcement agencies as an excellent working dog for locating those who are missing and those who are hiding,” Flores wrote.

Windy was forced to retire on July 10 due to an unforeseen medical illness.

According to RSO, she became ill during a training seminar in Orange County. She spent some time in veterinary care but was able to return to work. When she returned, she helped law enforcement find four missing persons and one violent felon. However, during one of her searches, Windy became ill again, but this time, with valley fever. With Windy facing multiple challenging illnesses, the department decided to medically retire Windy.

Windy’s partner and handler for her entire career was Deputy Robert Ochoa. The two spent all their time at work and home together. According to RSO, she spent more time with Ochoa than he spent with his family. The two shared a strong bond built by years of working together.

“Every stressful situation her handler entered, Windy went into first. She faced the same dangers her handler did, before he did, to ultimately keep her handler and his partners safe,” Flores wrote.

When Windy retired, she went to live with Ochoa and his family, where she was surrounded by love and support.

“This bond and understanding of the way Windy thinks and feels makes the loss of a service dog so much more difficult for her handler,” Flores wrote.

To her last days, Windy continued to receive top-notch medical care at California Veterinarian Specialists in Murrieta. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of Dr. Lisa Prior and her team, Windy’s illness overcame her medication and her symptoms returned stronger than ever.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department expressed how thankful they are to the community for their outpouring of support.

“Goodbye Windy, we already miss you, and we will take the watch from here,” Flores wrote.