Town of Poughkeepsie police K9 retires

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) — The Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department announced the retirement of K9 Kyle, one of the department’s police dogs. Kyle’s retirement was approved by the Poughkeepsie Town Board on April 18.

The German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix from Slovakia has been with the department since 2015. Kyle spent his entire nine-year career alongside his partner, Officer Vanja Mikelic.

Certified in tracking, article search, scent detection and explosive detection, Kyle earned the Eastern Police Canine Association’s Police Tracking Title award alongside Officer Mikelic in 2018. The partners earned the accolade after successfully completing a tracking assignment that was two miles long and three hours old.

The police dog was deployed a total of 955 times across his career, and was integral to missions involving recovering evidence, locating crime suspects, and helping officers find multiple missing children. Kyle also participated in 102 demonstrations for local schools and youth.

The K9 will be spending his retirement at home with Officer Mikelic and his family. The department thanked Kyle for his years of dedicated service to the community.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NEWS10 ABC.