After nine years of service and duty in the UTRGV Police Department, K-9 Officer Odin is finally going into a well-deserved retirement, and his fellow officers made sure to give him an equally deserved send-off.
Odin was one of the three K-9 units, part of the UTRGV Police Department for both the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses. He specialized in narcotic detection and had been on campus since 2011 with legacy institution University of Texas Pan-American.
According to Assistant Chief of Police Van Slusser, the decision to retire Odin was made due to the development of arthritis that comes with a dog’s age.
“Once we saw that the arthritis was starting to set in, we decided it’s time to retire him before… we get to a point of chronic pain,” Slusser said.
Odin was given a retirement ceremony on Oct. 21 in which he was officially adopted by his handler, Sgt. Molly Ralph. This ceremony also acted as a goodbye to Ralph as she and Odin will be moving to San Antonio.
Together, they will continue their journey there where Ralph will continue her work as a Police Officer at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Odin will now get to adjust to his new civilian life.
Ralph elaborates on her experience as Odin’s handler.
“He’s changed everything, I would say,” Ralph said. “I’ll never forget my time in K-9…it’s been a fantastic experience.”
Ralph also went on to reminisce about the different memories she had with Odin.
“He was kind of a go big or go home kinda guy,” she said. “So if I tapped up on a counter a lot of times, especially when he was younger, he would jump all the way up on top of the counter instead of just taking a little step.”
Both Odin and Ralph were well known in the Edinburg community due to the many times they visited schools and events to inform them of the K-9 officers and operations.
Although Ralph and Odin will be leaving the Rio Grande Valley, they both will be remembered for the time they spent on the force.
According to a Facebook post made by the UTRGV Police Department, Odin was the most well-known officer in the force, which shows just how special he was.
Vaquero Radio wishes Ralph luck in her new position at UTSA and hopes that Odin will enjoy his retirement.
This is Rodolfo Alvarado for Vaquero News.
