It’s hard to see a good officer go and it’s apparently no different when it’s a K-9 officer. The Roosevelt City Police Department held a retirement party for K-9 officers Buddy and Zena on Tuesday, an occasion that was bittersweet. Buddy is 11 years old and has been with Roosevelt PD for 6 years. Buddy’s partner for the duration of that time has been Sgt. T.J. Bird. “When he found narcotics on our very first stop together, that was a great day. I knew it was going to be a good thing,” shares Sgt. Bird. Buddy is retiring for age-related reasons and will be going home with Sgt. Bird and his family to enjoy his retirement from the force. “Buddy has been an exceptional asset to RPD over the last six years,” shares Police Chief Rick Harrison. “He has been involved in a large number of narcotics cases for us and neighboring agencies. He has lost his sight and has a difficult time getting around due to age-related issues.” Zena is the younger of the two K-9s but has to retire due to an ACL injury. She has spend most of her career with her partner Cpl. Clint Robinson, working in Duchesne County schools. “She’s a detection dog, so most of what we’ve done together is work to keep our schools safe,” shares Cpl. Robinson. “We do locker checks, that kind of thing. She’s trained in marijuana, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. She’s been with me in just about every school in the area.” Zena has been with Cpl. Robinson for four years and will be going to the Robinson home to rest, heal, and hopefully come back to work someday. Roosevelt PD is sad to see these two K-9 officers go but enjoyed celebrating their hard work at the retirement party on Tuesday.
