A Dallas County sheriff's deputy gets to adopt his retired K-9 partner after the drug-sniffing dog was diagnosed with a condition that won't allow him to continue his duties.
The Dallas County Commissioner's Court officially recognized the retirement of Dallas County Sheriff's Deputy Terry Trout's partner, an 8-year-old Czechoslovakian German shepherd named Diuk, on Tuesday.
Diuk, pronounced Duke, has been partnered with Trout for the past five and a half years. Diuk has been forced to retire as a drug detection dog because of a condition called degenerative myelopathy.
"It's basically Lou Gehrig's disease for dogs," Trout explained. "In his mind, he's thinking it's time to go back to work, but his body just won't let him."
The department asked Dallas County Commissioners Tuesday to sell Diuk to his partner, Trout, for $10.
"He's my dog, and it means a lot to me and my family because he has been there since day one," Trout said.
According to statistics kept by the sheriff's department, Trout and Diuk are responsible for the seizure of more than 1,100 pounds of marijuana, more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 30 pounds of cocaine, more than 10 pounds of heroin and more than $1.4 million from suspected drug dealers.
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"For five and a half years he's been by my side," Trout said. "And for every minute, he's been with me. Even in our down time we practice, we train, we play. I pick up after him, I take care of him. I mean, he's like my kid, a kid that I spend every minute of every day with."
