City honors retired police K-9 in West Wendover


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WEST WENDOVER — Six and a half years is a short career in any line of work, but it was enough for a police officer in West Wendover to retire.

Last week, officer Pete Turner's longtime K-9 partner retired because of health problems.

"It's a change of pace for me," said Turner, a police officer for West Wendover. "It's taken some time to get used to not having him with me. We've been together for over 6 years now."

His dog, Teke, may not understand what all the fuss is about, but he always understood what to do whenever he smelled drugs. He helped with drug busts involving methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and shrooms.

City Council members presented Teke and Turner with a plaque honoring his service last week.

The police department would like to get a new dog because there isn't one between Elko and Tooele and Turner says there is serious need for a dog in the area.

"Everybody knows I-80 is a large corridor for narcotics," said Turner.

If a new dog is bought, Turner isn't sure if he can be its handler because he'll still have Teke living with him during the dog's retirement.

"It's his time. I want to make sure I pay as much attention to him as possible, and he deserves that," said Turner. "I'm proud of him and the city is proud of him."

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