HOUSTON – (February 4, 2021) – The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is proud to announce the retirement of three of its K9 partners who served the agency and the community well. The agency’s K9 Unit will celebrate their dedication and faithful years of service on Friday, Feb. 5 at 10 a.m. at the HCSO Academy (Multipurpose Room) at 2316 Atascocita Road.
“Our four-legged partners function as a team with their handlers and are skilled assets who work tirelessly to help us apprehend wanted suspects, locate missing persons, identify explosives, and seize narcotics and contraband,” said Sgt. Chris Moore, who serves as the trainer and lead supervisor for the agency’s K9 Unit. “K9s Lucky, Gerard, and Rico were true partners in every sense of the word.”
As part of the celebration, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and Patrol Support Services Capt. Mike Koteras will present each K9 with a retirement certificate, and Sgt. Moore will share their career highlights. K9s4Cops, a Houston-based non-profit that helps law enforcement agencies obtain trained K9 units, will be among those in attendance. The Harris County Sheriff’s Foundation and K9s4Cops donated K9s Lucky, Gerard, and Rico.
All three K9s will spend their golden years with their handlers.
Meet the Retired K9s
K9 Gerard is a 12-year-old K9 trained to identify explosives and track a scent. He has worked alongside his handler, Deputy George Love, on 421 patrol deployments, 270 captures, and 110 explosive sweeps. In 2015, the Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd mix was named Explosive K9 of the Year and won first place in the explosive scramble during the K9 Olympics. In 2018, K9 Gerard and Deputy Love were honored by the 100 Club for apprehending a suspect who shot and wounded a Harris County Precinct 4 deputy constable. K9 Gerard has conducted numerous explosive sweeps at city-wide events, such as Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. He has eight years of public service.
K9 Lucky is a 10-year-old K9 trained to identify explosives and track a scent. He has worked alongside his handler, Deputy David Bair, on 332 patrol deployments, 88 captures, and 151 explosive sweeps. K9 Lucky, a German Shepherd mix, has conducted numerous explosive sweeps at city-wide events, including the Grand Prix of Houston, NCAA Final Four Tournament, and Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. In 2015, he responded to an officer-involved shooting in north Harris County involving a Houston Police Officer. He was deployed at the scene, a gas station parking lot, and tracked the suspect’s shotgun to a nearby wooded area, recovering crucial evidence. He has seven years and five months of public service with more than 2,400 training hours.
K9 Rico is a 9-year-old K9 trained to identify narcotics and track a scent. He has worked alongside his handler, former Deputy and current Waller County Sheriff Troy Guidry, on 127 patrol deployments, 48 captures, and 98 narcotic operations. Additionally, the team helped train handlers from the Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies – dedicating about 160 hours per month to the instruction. K9 Rico has six and a half years of public service with more than 3,100 training hours.
Media Notes:
• We are allowing one pool video and one pool still photographer due to COVID-19. Please provide HCSO Media Relations ([email protected]) with the contact information for the outlet(s) that will be designated for pool duty by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 4.
• Social distancing will be practiced. Face coverings are required.
• Photo highlights from the retirement celebration will be uploaded to our agency’s social media pages.
