For more than nine years, K9 Ringo faithfully served the Jackson, Mississippi Police Department.
The Labrador Retriever sniffed out drugs and helped in search and rescue operations. He also stood by his partner Carl Ellis’s side at countless crime scenes.
After nine years of service, it was time for Ringo to retire. The police department had a ceremony to say goodbye to Ringo, and then he left the department for the last time. The Jackson Police Department assumed that Ellis had brought Ringo home with him.
The police department was shocked when they learned that Ellis had actually dumped Ringo in an animal shelter.
Ringo’s first trainer, Randy Hare, was the one who learned that Ringo was in a shelter. Hare works at the Alpha Canine Training Center, where he trains pups to become K9 police officers.
Hare is well-known in Jackson, and so when Ringo arrived at the local pound, the shelter decided to call him. The shelter told him they had received a dog who seemed to be a police dog. The shelter sent over a photo, and Hare saw Ringo staring back at him.
“I don’t know that there is a word for being both hurt and mad but I was both of them. And I still am. You know it’s just, you just don’t turn your back on something like that that’s been with you for nine years,” Hare told WKRC.
Hare called the Jackson Police Department and told them about Ringo. The department was saddened to hear about what happened to Ringo.
“The Jackson Police Department respects and holds our canines with high regard just as we do any other officer within our department,” the Jackson Police Department said in a statement. “They are family, and we do not feel they deserve anything less than a loving home in retirement.”
The Jackson Police Department also demoted Ellis from a detective to a patrol duty officer because of his actions.
Thankfully, Ringo’s story has a happy ending. Hare decided to adopt the pup himself, and Ringo is now happily living in Hare’s home.
The Jackson Police Department is now also performing quarterly wellness checks on their retired police dogs. They hope this new policy will help prevent any more police dogs from ending up in the pound.
When Hare was asked if he would still work with the Jackson Police Department after this incident, he said probably not.
“I know they have a new administration. I actually hope that they do better than they have in the past. But all I have to go on is the past. So for me, no,” Hare said.
We’re so glad that Ringo is now in a good home—after so many years of serving his community, he deserves a great retirement. If you want to learn more about Ringo, check out the video below.
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