WEST WENDOVER — Six and a half years is a short career in any line of work, but it was enough for a police officer in West Wendover to retire.
West Wendover police officer Pete Turner’s longtime K-9 partner retired last week because of health problems.
“It’s a change of pace for me,” Turner said. “It’s taken some time to get used to not having him with me. We’ve been together for over six years now.”
His dog, Teke, may not understand what all the fuss is about, but he always understood what to do whenever he smelled drugs. He helped with drug busts involving “methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and shrooms,” Turner said.
On his last day, the West Wendover City Council presented Teke and Turner with a plaque recognizing both for their many years of service to the community.
It’s the little things officers will miss the most, like how plastic water bottles kept disappearing from their desks, or how those pointy ears and that look could make children smile whenever they visited schools to teach them about the dangers of drugs.
“I don’t think the kids pay attention to the drugs. They’re more, ‘I want to play with Teke,’” Turner said.
The police department would like to get a new dog because there isn’t one between Elko, Nevada, and Tooele, and Turner says there is serious need for a dog in the area.
“Everybody knows I-80 is a large corridor for narcotics,” he said.
If the department gets a new dog, Turner said he isn't sure he can be its handler because he’ll still have Teke living with him during the dog’s retirement.
“It’s his time. I want to make sure I pay as much attention to him as possible, and he deserves that,” he said. “I’m proud of him, and the city is proud of him.”
Email: acabrero@deseretnews.com