Sedona Police Constable John Reid will be able to bring work home as his K-9 partner Max retired Thursday, May 11th.

“It’s been the best six years of my career so far,” Reed said of working with the Belgian Malinois, who is almost eight years old. “Max already lives with me and my two Great Danes, so not much will change. He’s just staying home while I’m still at work.”

Max was born on June 18, 2015 in Italy. Reid first met the dog when he and his wife went with SPD Chief Stephanie Foley to find a dog for the California police department. Foley used to be a kindergarten police officer with his partner Darran.

Of the 25 candidates, Reid was attracted to Max because of his gentle disposition. He said that was important because SPDs often work in local schools.

“He also had a natural confidence in who I liked,” Reed said. “No matter what we gave him, he was knocked out of the park. It was a target.”

SPD began using Max on December 18, 2017 and retired Max on May 11, 2017.

“Max really likes stuffed animals,” said Sergeant SPD. Nathan Dorfman, Reid’s former boss, attends Max’s retirement party at Posse Grounds Park. “He got them and shredded them, [Reed] He did his best to hide all the stuffed animals.So I quietly walked around the control room and hid [them] On desks, in people’s offices… [But] Probably the most productive dog ever raised in this town. “

Max is typically on standby at night and on weekends, and Reed’s usual shifts include driving around, chasing suspects and known locations for drug and criminal activity, and making targeted traffic stops. It consisted of doing

Max is also sent to 400-500 hours of animal training each year and has been dispatched nearly 300 times by SPD and its partner agencies (including Yavapai County).

The Sheriff’s Department, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and Anti-Drug Trafficking Partners are responsible for both finding drugs and apprehending suspects.

“There was barricade shooting, but after hours of subjects firing at us, [Max] Ultimately, it was sent in to make sure the subject was no longer a threat to us,” Reed said. “[Max] It had to be dispatched twice during its deployment. You can imagine the stress for me as the handler sending Max in. “

Reid also boasted about his success using dogs as a threat.

“When you kick the dog out, suddenly people become very docile,” Reed said. “I remember one call where the guy was in a room filled with CS gas and pepper balls, screaming high doing push-ups on his bed. could develop into.

“When Max broke through the door to get to him, he heard [the] Break down the door as Max [was] “He started yelling, ‘Get the dog out of here,'” he said.

Reid, who will be moving to the motorcycle division of the division, advised his successor to “work hard because it’s a tough job and keep devoting yourself to the position.”

SPD Lieutenant Karl Work said, “John Reed was a man of dedication.” “They are responsible for getting tons of drugs off the streets. [have] Overall a great representative for our agency. It’s a sad day, but I’m happy that John is with Max. He will have a wonderful life in John’s house, where he is accustomed to dogs. “

The decision to retire this dog was made based on his age and health issues. Foley said the SPD plans to purchase a replacement trained K-9 dog around August or September.

Fix:

The printed version of the story misidentified Sedona police officer John Reed as the sergeant. John Peel. We apologize for the mistake.