SAPD Retired K-9 Duke Honored for Service

San Angelo Police Department announced the death of their retired canine, Duke, on Jan. 30. The K-9 Duke began his career with the SAPD in 2013 and served for seven years and 10 months before retiring under the care of his third handler and work partner Officer Frank Flores. Duke was Flores’ patrol service dog for five years.

The SAPD described Duke as a hardworking partner who served the citizens of San Angelo and Tom Green County well. Duke and Flores not only worked with the SAPD but also with the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office, the Department of Public Safety, Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security. Sometimes, Duke and Flores would conduct a demonstration for schools or educational groups, such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

The SAPD, along with Flores and his family, honored the life and service of Duke by telling stories. The SAPD is also working to get a nameplate or marker to honor all of its previous retired K-9s that have died. “Duke's legacy will live on for a long time,” Flores said, “as there are many incidents Duke and myself were a part of.” Many officers have a Duke story. Flores was Duke’s third handler, because Duke’s first handler retired and his second handler was promoted to sergeant of a different division.

Duke was trained as a dual-purpose K-9, so he could locate and alert his handlers to the odor of narcotics as well as complete patrol responsibilities. Some of his patrol responsibilities included conducting article searches, tracking fleeing suspects, apprehending criminals and searching buildings. “Police K-9s are an invaluable tool in many aspects of patrol work,” Flores said. “K-9s also assist with most divisions within SAPD including Narcotics, Criminal Investigation Division and the Anti-Crime Unit.”

All K-9 handlers track all of their training, along with the statistics of incidents they’re involved in. “A K-9’s training is never complete. We dedicate an entire shift every week to conduct nothing but training,” Flores said. K-9s and their handlers work during their scheduled patrol hours, but also remain available and on-call at all times in case they’re needed by any of the aforementioned divisions or departments.