After four years on the job, Bend Police drug detection K9 Ladybug has retired.
Bend Police say the 9-year-old Belgian Malinois retired last month. She was purchased from Golden Gate K9 in Santa Rosa, Calif., which provides patrol and drug detection K9s to agencies on the West Coast.
Ladybug trained as a passive alert detection dog, meaning she sits and stays or lays and stares when she detects the source of narcotic odors, police said.
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Between March 2019 and November 2022, Ladybug was deployed 505 times. She seized 14,804 grams of methamphetamine, 10,959 grams of heroin, 3,588 grams of cocaine and 4,317 fentanyl pills during that time.
In addition to her drug seizures, Ladybug also recovered $18,400 in cash, 13 illegal guns and was part of 233 arrests, police said.
Ladybug’s role on patrol decreased dramatically after a 2021 Oregon Court of Appeals case changed how drug detection dogs could be used on traffic stops, police said.
Her handler, Detective Rob Pennock, now works with K9 Bonnie.
