In Hinesville, Georgia, there’s a story about a retired police dog named Kona. Normally, when police dogs retire, they get to live out their days in comfort.
But that didn’t happen for Kona. Instead, she ended up homeless at a county shelter. The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office is looking into what happened.
They suspect that Kona’s handler, the person who took care of her during her time on the force, left her at the shelter. Sheriff William Bowman says they’re investigating, and Kona’s handler has been moved to a different job while they figure things out.
One big question is why Kona’s handler left her at the shelter five months after she retired. The sheriff’s office only found out about Kona’s being at the shelter after she’d been dropped off. They didn’t get any notification from the county’s animal control about what happened to her.
The sheriff’s office wants to make it clear that they take the well-being of all their dogs, both working and retired, very seriously. They’re looking into any claims of mistreatment or neglect.
After Kona was left at the shelter, she was adopted by someone the very next day. Her new owner is someone who used to work with police dogs.
When Kona arrived at the shelter, she was a bit underweight, but her new owner, Kevin Schwartz, from Charleston, South Carolina, says she’s doing much better now.
When Kona retired from the police force on December 20, she was given to her handler, like it’s usually done with retired police dogs.
Her handler signed paperwork agreeing to take care of all Kona’s needs, including vet visits and medical treatment.
Kona, a Dutch shepherd, was donated to the police unit when she was two years old and untrained. Now, at five years old, she’s enjoying her retirement with her new owner, and her health is improving every day.