LYNNWOOD — Zando was late to his own retirement party, but he had a good excuse.
The Lynnwood police dog had been called around 5 p.m. Tuesday to a row of cabin-like homes off 52nd Avenue W, where a burglary suspect was ramming a car into other vehicles.
As officers reached the scene, the suspect ran off. Zando and his handler Sgt. Joseph Dickinson detoured to the scene and tracked down the suspect. A man, 47, was booked into jail for investigation of five counts of burglary.
It was the 608th time the canine had been called to a crime scene, and the 206th time the police dog had apprehended a suspect.
In his eight-year career, the dog also recovered 106 pieces of evidence, according to Lynnwood police.
Afterward he was feted with a plate-sized dog treat at the Lynnwood Criminal Justice Center.
On his first scent track in 2011, Zando chased down three out of four armed suspects following a home invasion with shots fired. The fourth surrendered, Dickinson said in a video about Zando in 2015.
“He picks up on my adreneline, and so when he hears the certain tones on the radio, or if he hears me hit the lights, he knows it’s time to work,” the sergeant said in the video. “ … I rely heavily upon him for my safety, so I can go back to my family. That’s a lot of trust into an animal, but he gives nothing but love back.”
Zando has been good with kids, too.
Last year he became fast friends with Luca Keogh, 7, the city’s police Chief for a Day.
In retirement, Zando will officially be bought by Dickinson for $1.
He’ll stay with his handler’s family for the rest of his life.
Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.
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