NEWTON, Texas — A valued four-legged member of the Newton County Sheriff's Office has retired after a "long and distinguished career."
"K9 Bruce," a 9-year-old Belgian Malinois, retired at the end of 2023 after spending five years working for the sheriff's office according to a Facebook post by the Newton County Sheriff's Office.
He began his career at the sheriff's office in 2018 after being a personal protection dog for a military family according to the post.
Bruce, who was patrol certified as well as trained to detect narcotics and conduct crushed vegetation tracking, worked throughout 2023 with deputy Joshua Nash. Bruce was considered to be a "dual purpose K9."
He and deputy Nash worked together to detect narcotics and make arrests according to the post.
The sheriff's office has already purchased his replacement, "Jack," who will attend training with deputy Nash and then start working in February.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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