St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith is honored to announce the retirement of K-9 Deputy Thor, effective Oct. 15.
K9 Deputy Thor began his career with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office in December of 2012 and provided eight years of dedicated service. He worked as a dual-purpose canine and was trained in narcotics detection and handler protection as well as in search and evidence recovery. During his eight years with the STPSO, K9 Deputy Thor located many articles of evidence, including guns, other dangerous weapons, narcotics and stolen property, which had been hidden by the fleeing criminals, often times in heavily wooden areas. He successfully apprehended 52 wanted suspects and located 32 concealed narcotic locations throughout buildings, packages, vehicles and underground. He conducted 46 tracks and physically located 20 suspects. This accounts for a 43 percent success rate, which is far above the national average rate of 20 percent.
K9 Deputy Thor is being retired due to age and health issues. He will spend his retirement in the care of his handler, Sgt. Ronald Olivier.
