K9 officer Azim, who has been with the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department since 2014, retired last month with his handler Sgt. Tim Hunn. The Monongalia County Commission voted this week to give custody of Azim to his long-time police partner.
“The county commissions have been very good about transferring ownership over to the handlers,” Sheriff Perry Palmer said, noting that the dogs become very attached to their handlers over the years.
Azim “will live the rest of his life with the people he grew up with – with Tim’s family. So it’s a win-win for everyone,” he said.
Hunn said Azim will be living the retired life from here on out. “A lot of laying on the couch – which he did anyways, but he just gets more of it,” he said. “Run around with my kid – that’s about it.”
Hunn shared one of his favorite Azim memories when they were new on the job and assisting the U.S. Marshals tracking a suspect and Azim alerted him to a portion of brush.
“At this point [Azim] doesn’t bite anybody, so I yelled at the marshals. As I’m getting the words out of my mouth – ‘Hey, come check this pile of brush,’ I hear this voice come out of it, ‘I’ll come out please don’t let him bite me.’”
Hunn said he bluffed the guy and told him to come out or the dog would bite, “Of course [Azim] is just wagging his tail,” he laughed.
Later when the suspect was handcuffed on the ground, Hunn and Azim walked past him.
“I realized I completely forgot to give him his reward – at that point he just got a toy at the end of a track,” Hunn said. “As he’s walking past this guy, I’m not paying attention. He licks the guy’s face and the guy starts screaming bloody murder. And I just thought, ‘Well, here’s my opportunity to throw his ball.’”
Palmer said with Azim retiring, and the retirement of another K9 unit in November 2021, the department recently brought on two new recruits of the four-legged variety.
Jagger, a Belgian malinois, who will be handled by Deputy Hall and German shepard Rocky who will be partnered with Deputy King. The deputies said both K9s are trained in several areas, including narcotics detection, criminal apprehension and tracking.
Palmer said funding for the K9s and their training comes from forfeiture money from things like drug raids and cases that were adjudicated and turned over to the sheriff’s office.
K9 officers are an integral part of the sheriff’s department, Palmer said, and are an extra bonus for officers who may be stationed on the outskirts of the county with little backup.
Jagger and Rocky will be used in similar situations to their predecessors, like Azim, and will be helpful in slowing down drug traffic in Monongalia County, he said.
Deputies Hall and King said they are excited to work with the new K9s and are grateful for the opportunity given to them by Palmer and the people of Mon County. They are ready to continue learning all of the laws and regulations associated with having a K9 partner.
“It’s definitely very rewarding so far,” said Hall. “I’m really looking forward to spending my career with this dog and having a good long career.”
