By Ray Reyes
The Tampa Tribune
TAMPA, Fla. — Retirement looms for two members of the Tampa Police Department that have spent a total of seven decades looking for explosives, sniffing out packages of narcotics and patrolling city streets.
Well, it’s seven decades if you count them in dog years.
The careers of Antar and Max, both German shepherds with the K-9 unit, will be recognized Thursday by Tampa City Council. Officially, the canines will be removed from the “police inventory” due to old age and health issues, according to a resolution.
In reality, both dogs can look forward to leisure and luxury for the rest of their lives.
“He was very good at his job,” said Antar’s handler, police Cpl. Mike Baranowski. “He was a very serious patrol dog. Ultimately, he’ll be a great pet. Actually, my wife’s pet.”
While some German shepherds can work as police dogs until they are 13 years old, Antar is retiring at age 8 because of a chipped bone in his shoulder, Baranowski said.
Antar was injured several years ago during training when he chased a ball that “bounced weird and really high,” caught it and landed hard on a foreleg, Baranowski said.
“It became a persistent problem,” the corporal said. “So me and the vet decided it was best to retire him.”
Antar’s replacement is Rock, a German shepherd mix being trained by Baranowski to detect bombs and other explosives.
Antar’s partner, the drug-detecting Max, is retiring because of old age.
The 8-year-old Max is being replaced by Kilo, a 1-year-old black Labrador retriever being trained by Cpl. Kevin Doan.
By the time Kilo is certified, the canine will be able to detect cocaine, marijuana, heroin and prescription medication, police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said.
Baranowski said police canines have an average career of six to eight years. Tampa police selects dogs 3 years old or younger.
Typically, Tampa police order puppies from breeders overseas. The dogs cost $6,500 to $8,000.
When they arrive, the dogs have minimal obedience training. It’s up to handlers -- and a 400-hour training program run by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement -- to turn the pups into police dogs.
Tampa police has 23 dogs. The city pays for the canines, along with their food, flea spray, bowls, toys and leashes.
When their careers are over, the canines are donated to their handlers and become family pets.
Baranowski said Antar’s retirement home is a large, comfy kennel in his backyard. But the German shepherd will have the run of the Baranowski household, too.
“He’s probably in the recliner right now,” Baranowski said, “with a remote.”
Copyright 2012 The Tampa Tribune