Vote — approved

Item Text

23. TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF RETIRING K-9 – HIGHWAY Approve the transfer of ownership of retiring K-9, Highway, #K135, to Detective Matthew Shay, #S2148. Highway is part black lab and pitbull mix canine that was originally rescued through Maricopa County Animal Care and Control in February 2020. He was fully trained and certified in late April 2020 by MCSO K-9 academy. In May 2020 Highway made his first “real world” find during a execution of search warrant. Thereafter with more than a dozen successful deployments and significant drug and cash seizures. Highway was utilized both as training aid and representative of the Sheriff’s Office for public events & training. In 2022 the need for a K-9 in the Maricopa County Drug Suppression Task Force was significantly reduced, with less than 3 deployments in a year. There is no longer a need for Highway in the current job assignment for Detective Shay for the canine to remain active and certified. Detective Shay has created a strong bond with Highway over the years as his handler/partner and will accept full care and financial responsibility for Highway upon adoption and will be asked to sign the Canine Release and Indemnification. THIS ITEM REQUIRES A UNANIMOUS VOTE OF THE BOARD (C-50-24-161-X-00)