Minnetonka Police Officer Retires After Only 7 Years

An officer with the Minnetonka Police Department is about to retire after only seven years on the force.

That’s possible, because this particular officer happens to be a dog!

And his departure will leave the department with quite a void to fill.

When Minnetonka police officer Ryan Piper goes on patrol there's no one he'd rather have with him than his trusted K-9 named Kreiger.

Kreiger is 9 years old, and was imported from Slovakia back in 2006.

The K-9’s career comes to an end in two weeks after 400 calls for service, and 1,400 hours of training.

"We've been fortunate enough to take several people into custody, some with bites, some without bites.  And that's typically through tracking, and his scenting capabilities with his nose," said Officer Piper.

Kreiger is one of two K-9s on the Minnetonka force. It isn't clear if he will be replaced.

Piper says it will be a big loss, "You have a building search and you send that dog in there, that dog can replace four officers in going into that building.  They also put themselves in the line of fire."

Kreiger cost the department around $7,000 up front. 

Officer Piper will buy him for $1 and assume responsibility for him after that, which includes the potential for some hefty veterinary bills.

"It is a lot of wear and tear on them in the back of those cars, the work they do is pretty demanding and physical," said Piper.

Officer Piper says in retirement, Kreiger will eventually lose some of his will to search for drugs and bad guys.  But that he'll be able to be around families, and other dogs.

They even have something of a retired K-9 support group, where current dog handlers, and owners of retired dogs schedule time to get together and let the dogs play.

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