Furry force retires from sheriff’s office | Palatka Daily News, Palatka, Florida

Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Jared Guy takes a bite of K-9 Halo’s treats during the dog’s retirement party on Monday.
Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Kagen Butts says goodbye to his partner, K-9 Halo, on Monday as the German shepherd heads into retirement.
Lt. Jared Guy and Halo watch Sheriff Gator DeLoach get the dog’s retirement cake together Monday during the sendoff party.
Positively Putnam FL

A deputy for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office let out a few loud barks Monday and took a bite of a freshly-baked treat to celebrate retiring after five years of service.

K-9 Halo, a German shepherd, started working at the agency in 2017 and was a partner to numerous deputies. He retired as Sgt. Kagen Butts’ partner, but Lt. Jared Guy took Halo home after his service was officially done. The sheriff’s office said Butts has been promoted to sergeant and will be leaving the K-9 unit.

“The very tough decision was to retire Halo and allow him to live an active, happy life with Lt. Guy, who has worked on shift with Halo for years rather than have him train another partner,” the agency said in a social media post.

Butts made the decision to give Halo to Guy because, with his new position as a sergeant, Butts did not want to leave Halo alone for long periods of the day.

“He’s going to be very active and he’s going to be going with me everywhere,” Guy said in a statement. “He’s going to (be) living a great life.”

Halo has helped his partners subdue suspects who did not cooperate during their arrests, but he was also a trained tracker and could find suspects who may have been hiding from authorities, according to the sheriff’s office.

Three years ago, Halo worked to take down a suspect who allegedly trespassed into a Palatka home and began threatening its occupants, the Palatka Daily News reported.

In 2020, a Jacksonville man fled authorities after they pursued his Jeep, which looked like a stolen vehicle. The man was arrested in Palatka but not without a struggle.

According to a Palatka Daily News story, Christopher Blake Randolph eluded police until the Jeep flipped on its side. The deputies released Halo to subdue Randolph, who reportedly punched the canine deputy. He was arrested on two charges of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer.

Halo now gets to spend his days living an active life in retirement, but the agency still hopes to see him around the office.

“In Lt. Guy’s care, Sgt. Butts will still get to still see his four-legged friend, and we expect to hear him coming down the hallway of administration for visits and snacks,” the office said on social media.

A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Sgt. Kagen Butts’ title and has been updated to reflect the correct information.