The Howell County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday the retirement of K9 Otis. With the recent passage of Missouri Constitutional Amendment 3, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana, the Howell County Sheriff’s Office was forced to retire K9 Otis from narcotics detection work.
K9 Otis was purchased by the Howell County Sheriff’s Office in January 2022 and was assigned to Deputy First Class Travis Weaver. DFC Weaver and K9 Otis completed a 4-week training program prior to being assigned to the Special Missions Division and attached to Patrol Division 1st Squad. During his short tenure with the Howell County Sheriff’s Office, K9 Otis assisted with several notable incidents including numerous arrests and was deployed multiple times for narcotics detection. He aided in the seizure of 1.6 pounds of methamphetamine, 239 capsules of Fentanyl, 139 grams of cocaine, and hundreds of items of paraphernalia associated with illegal narcotics.
K9 Otis was also deployed to assist with locating a missing 2-year-old male who had been reported missing for four hours. Upon their arrival, DFC Weaver and K9 Otis were quickly able to locate the child and reunite him with his parents. He was involved at numerous functions at area schools across Howell County as well as several community outreach events.
K9 Otis will be retained by DFC Weaver and will maintain his certifications in narcotics detection and tracking. He will continue to be utilized for narcotics detection in schools as well as area searches for article searches and missing and wanted persons.
The Howell County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank DFC Weaver and K9 Otis for their service to the citizens of Howell County.
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