Belgian Shepherd named Charcoal retired from the Eastern Finland Police Department at the end of June and completed 10 years of loyal service.
Sysi has lived with the same handler for all these 10 years and will continue to do so until retirement.
"All police dogs are pets and family members," Lieutenant Sami Joutjärvi told Yle.
Joutjärvi is the head responsible for dog operations at the Eastern Finland Police Department.
In announcing his retirement, the department noted that Sysi had saved many lives, helped locate several missing people and tracked down countless suspects during a distinguished career.
"Sysi has been involved in dozens of operations every year. It is fair to say that Sysi has earned his pension as a civil servant," Joutjärvi said.
The daily life of a police dog is physically much more demanding than that of a civilian dog. For example, police dogs should move around in physically challenging locations and be prepared to use force if necessary.
"Sysi retires in exceptionally good condition," Joutjärvi said.
Most police dog handlers work with more than one dog during their careers, as troops tend to start replacing an older dog when it reaches the age of eight.
Sys’s deputy, nicknamed the Belgian Shepherd Putsimoved in with family in the summer of 2020 and now takes the role of Sys at the police department.
Source: The Nordic Page