Sgt. Rico Retires

To his fellow officers at the Bristol Tennessee Police Department, he is known as Sgt. Rico. To the rest of the world, though, he is the pointy-eared, four-legged officer always ready to take a bite out of crime.

For nearly six years, this Belgian malinois – a slightly smaller version of the German shepherd – nipped at the heels of bad guys. But arthritis and other ailments of old age finally caught up with Rico, forcing him to officially retire last month.

“He’s still a little puppy; he has lots of energy,” handler Sgt. Rob Caudill said of the 14-year-old. “He just doesn’t jump as high as he used to, and he doesn’t run as fast as he used to.”

Rico now lives with Caudill as a family pet.

With Caudill at his side, Rico was a pre-race fixture at Bristol Motor Speedway, sniffing for bombs and making friends with the drivers. He also has been a big hit with local school students and hospital patients.

“He would sit there, surrounded by all these children, and they would touch his face, pet him and pull his tail, and he would just know that’s cool, you know,” Caudill said.

But the dog also had the ability to “switch into ‘warrior mode,’ as I like to call it, and apprehend the suspect. That always amazed me,” he said.

In 2005, Rico tracked a missing Alzheimer patient for more than four miles before finding him atop a ridge so steep that Caudill had to climb it on his hands and knees.

“It was jacket weather, and the guy was up there in his underwear,” he recalled.

Caudill crested the top to find the man sitting on a log and Rico nuzzled up to him and licking his face.

Of course, as a dog, Rico has no concept of retirement, and expects to patrol the streets each day. So Caudill has to ward off the doggy blues by driving Rico to court cases and to gym workouts in the patrol car.

“He doesn’t know he’s really not going to work,” Caudill said.

The Police Department is now searching for Rico’s replacement.

As for Rico, he will soon begin training for his next career – as a therapy dog.

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