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Ceremony emotional as K9 officer retires

The Butler County Commissioners officially retired 10-year-old German shorthaired pointer Bullet on Wednesday, after nine years of service with the county sheriff's office. Bullet was released into the care of his handler, trainer and primary companion, Sgt. Harry Callithen.

The ceremony at Wednesday's county commissioners meeting celebrating an officer's retirement was pretty “ruff” on those who love him.

K9 officer Bullet, the county's 10-year-old German shorthaired pointer, sat attentively by the side of his handler, Sgt. Harry Callithen of the Butler County Sheriff's Office, as many county officials wiped away tears.

Commissioners chairwoman and obvious pet-lover Leslie Osche reached a point where she had to restart her reading of the county proclamation that officially retired the jowly pup and passed ownership of him to Callithen, with whom he has lived for the past nine years.

Many sniffles could be heard, and multiple cellphones were held aloft as the ceremony unfolded.

Osche's voice cracked throughout the reading of the proclamation, and she gave Bullet a long hug and kiss after his police collar was removed by Callithen upon Sheriff Mike Slupe's orders.“Harry, before we end this, you've done a great job, and Bullet's done a great job for the county with education, training, searching and drug detection,” Slupe said. “Bullet has been a great, great addition to the office.”After Callithen removed Bullet's police collar to replace it with a civilian one, Bullet heralded his new status with a happy bark and some youthful frolicking.Callithen thanked everyone in attendance for their affection and respect for Bullet over the past decade.“Bullet's been an amazing dog, and I know he's really going to enjoy retirement,” Callithen said.Callithen is also the handler for the county's spry new K9 officer, Justice, a 2-year-old wirehaired pointer whose energy and enthusiasm is causing Callithen to “step up my game,” Callithen said.“Bullet likes to sleep a lot, and Justice doesn't sleep,” Callithen said.<iframe width="100%" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3FGDP3g-Sjs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Slupe said Monday that Bullet has assisted police departments throughout the county with drug searches and missing persons.He recalled one incident in Penn Township, in the dead of winter, when a child had left his home and disappeared.“Penn Township called Harry,” Slupe said. “He took Bullet out, and it didn't take him long to track (the child) down.”Slupe said Bullet also has assisted with drug detection at the county prison and in other venues.“It's just another tool for law enforcement,” he said.Slupe will also miss Bullet's presence around the office.“He has served the county very, very well and the sheriff's office very, very well over the course of nine years,” Slupe said.

Bullet, the 10-year-old German shorthaired pointer that works as the county sheriff department's tracking and narcotics detection K9 officer, was retired Wednesday.

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