The Guilford Police Department (GPD) said farewell to a beloved member of the department at the end of the year. Patrol K-9 Kobe hung up his leash after six years with the force and will now spend his retirement years with his handler, newly promoted GPD Detective Brittany Bartlett.

Bartlett has been Kobe’s handler and partner since his first day on the job and has nothing but praise for her former partner and his abilities.

Bartlett said Kobe’s retirement is bittersweet as she developed a deep relationship with her canine partner. She is also thankful, however, that Kobe will spend his golden years with her and her other dog Wyatt. According to Bartlett, the dogs are best friends and inseparable.

“He’s the best partner anyone could have. I truly believe that. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Others have said it too, but being a dog handler is often the best years of an officer’s career,” Bartlett said. “And I can absolutely see why. Without a doubt, Kobe would protect me in a heartbeat. That will definitely be hard to replace.”

Bartlett said that confidence and reliance on a canine partner are critical to the performance of her duties.

“It really is a lot easier to handle calls that way. When people know that there is a dog present…it puts things into perspective for people. I think that sheds light onto why we’re here and why we do this job,” said Bartlett.

Chief Butch Hyatt said the training and day-to-day demands on police patrol K-9s can have a heavy impact on a dog, and law enforcement dogs often have a relatively short working life of five to six years. Unlike other “specialty” trained dogs, patrol dogs endure strenuous physical duties and extensive training, while also receiving training in narcotics and evidence detection and location.

“Most of these K-9s have a certain working life. Usually, at around eight to 10 years old, they see some physical challenges. Just like us, the older they get, the more challenging, specifically, patrol work is. If he was a specialty dog, just doing narcotics intervention sometimes they can work a bit longer, but because of the physical demands of a patrol dog’s duties and the monthly training they participate in, they tend to have a shorter working span,” said Hyatt.

Hyatt was a K-9 officer during his tenure with the State Police and is a strong believer in their benefit to law enforcement.

“A patrol dog is one that is trained specifically for patrol work and rides in the vehicle with the officer. Essentially, they are partners. I was a dog handler for six years myself, and the bond that develops is very strong. In patrol work, the bond between the dog and handler is unbelievable because you are together all the time. Those dogs would literally give their life for the handler,” Hyatt said. “The bond that officers build with their canine is unbreakable. It really is amazing. But it’s teamwork. It takes hard work on both ends of the leash.”

According to Hyatt, the training involved for patrol dogs is intense and ongoing to become skilled in numerous duties.

“With patrol work, a dog is trained in a number of areas. They are trained in man-trailing which is tracking missing people [and] wanted people who run away. They are trained in evidence recovery. They are trained in building search, and the dog can search and find. They are also trained in handler protection, which means if someone were to launch an assault against their handler, the dog is trained to come to that officer’s protection,” said Hyatt. “We hope that never happens, and Kobe never had to perform that, but it is good to know you have that backup.”

Kobe has had a distinguished career, according to Bartlett. He recently located narcotics during an important investigation. He's also tracked down fugitives and found missing people and evidence.

According to Deputy Chief Chris Massey, Bartlett was instrumental in re-establishing the Department’s K-9 program approximately six years ago. The program had been dormant for several years prior to her involvement.

“She helped bring an active program back to the department and to get it rolling again and adapting it to modern times,” Massey said. “With all the existing policies we had to put in place for the K-9 team and also to get her and Kobe cross-trained for narcotics, there is a lot that goes into that. There are a lot of hoops you need to jump through in order to do that, it’s a whole process so that you can actively train the dog. She played a big part in that. Her role hasn’t been just as a K-9 handler, but she really helped bring the program back and establishing the procedures that will carry on to sustain the program.”

Hyatt and Massey concurred that in their experiences, belligerent individuals encountered by law enforcement will not hesitate to confront officers, but rarely are willing to take on a K-9, allowing officers to diffuse a variety of dangerous situations without risk to personnel, detainees, or the public.

“I don’t know how many times incidents were averted by just having the dog present," Hyatt said. "Some folks will challenge a police officer twice their size, but when they see a dog it’s much different.”

Bartlett said there are numerous special memories of Kobe that she can recall during their career together. Including tracking down fugitives in Madison and Branford and locating narcotics, but one particular track from his first week on the job stands out.

“I would say my best memory from Guilford was our very first week off of K-9 training. We had a track into the marsh down on Soundview, and ultimately we captured two individuals in the marsh — or I should say Kobe did — who were skimming credit cards at Walmart,” said Bartlett. “We happened to be in the perfect place at the perfect time…we ended up doing a track through the marsh, he really loves water and doesn’t shy away from water. It was all-encompassing for the whole shift and he really displayed his talents and skills that day.”

“We love that dog, all the officers do. We are really going to miss him,” said Hyatt.