Evans City-Seven Fields Police Sgt. Donald Myers will have to patrol by himself when his partner Chaos retires from active duty. Once the German shepherd calls it quits, the regional police department will end its K-9 unit. Funds that went to the K-9 unit will be re-located to other needs in the department.

EVANS CITY — Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Department will no longer have its K-9 unit once its German shepherd, Chaos, retires.

Tom Smith, Seven Fields manager, said Chaos is of retirement age, which for most dogs is at 7 or 8 years old. The regional police commission while projecting the 2016 budget began looking at allocating its limited funds to other needs in the department.

The department’s budget is roughly $765,000, and this year about $5,600 was allocated for a variety of purchases for the dog, Smith said.

The department is looking to hire another full-time officer, Smith said. The department currently has three full-time and nine part-time officers.

Smith said the department also wants to purchase new technology and new vehicles.

“We are going to continue to grow,” he said.

The commission was informed by its insurance company last year, while putting together the 2015 budget, that it would be the last year the dog was fully insured for replacement costs, Smith said. After this year the dog would only be covered for liability.

Smith said the commission did look into getting another dog at a cost of $15,000.

The commission does realize there are grant options available, he said, but the grants cover purchasing the new dog and not the other expenses that follow.

A K-9 unit is considered a specialized unit, Smith said. The car has to be specially outfitted for the dog and criminal suspects can’t be transported with the dog in the back of the car, which requires another officer or an officer from another agency to transport the suspect.

Smith said the commission looked at the number of times the dog has been used in Evans City and Seven Fields and most of the time Chaos was being used in other jurisdictions. He noted it is an expense for the dog to travel to other jurisdictions and the citizens lose an officer in their coverage area.

Chaos will have a home after he retires. The regional police commission is going to sell Chaos to Sgt. Donald Myers, who is in charge of the K-9 unit, for $1, Smith said.

Smith said it was never questioned that Chaos would remain with Myers.

“The police commission is very appreciative of Sgt. Myers and Chaos,” he said. “It is just that the department is going in a different direction to better serve the residents of Seven Fields and Evans City.”

Smith said he understands this is a sentimental issue. He noted this decision had nothing to do with performance, but it was a matter of the timing being appropriate with Chaos retiring and the decision to look at other department needs.

The possibility of the K-9 unit coming back to the department is not off the table for the future should the department find it has a need for another K-9 unit.

“Never say never,” Smith said.