ELYRIA — The pair of lawmen will be on patrol tonight and Saturday, and they’ll be looking for action for the final time together.
“I hope we get into something good,” Deputy Robert Perkins said. “He causes me more paperwork, but it’s worth it.”
“He” is Drago, a beautiful black and brown German shepherd who has been Perkins’ partner since 2002.
This weekend marks the last patrol they’ll work together for the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office. Drago, who is 9, is officially retiring Saturday from the department’s six-dog unit. While Drago is certified to continue working until March 2010, trainers and other department officials made the decision to end Drago’s police career.
Perkins, 48, is clearly disappointed.
“It was not my choice to retire him. He’s not ready to retire and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down,’’ he said. “It’s funny, but when we’re on vacation, I have to play with him with his toys or hide stuff to let him have some fun.
“He’s just so gung-ho. He gets that pumped up.”
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While nearly all of Drago’s 100-plus narcotics and patrol apprehensions were made without physical altercations, a handful required the dog to jump on suspects.
“We had a stolen car one night that crashed and the guy driving it bailed and ran,” Perkins said. “We all chased him, but the dog passed him and took him down.”
The muscular, alert dog was the high point of Thursday’s weekly meeting of the Lorain County commissioners where he and Perkins were recognized for their years of service.
Just as Commissioner Ted Kalo wished Drago a long and happy retirement, the dog barked loudly, almost as if on cue, which triggered laughter throughout the room and sparked an even more boisterous round of barks from the dog, who seemed to know the fuss was about him.
Among the mementos Perkins received from fellow deputies was a throw blanket bearing a likeness of him and Drago, who was imported from Germany by a Cleveland police officer and animal trainer.
A 22½-year veteran of the department, Perkins has been working with police dogs for 14 years.
“There were no K-9s with our department when we started,” Perkins said. “Now we’ve got six … three in the jail and three on the road.”
Drago will officially join Perkins’ family of two sons, a fiancee, and five other dogs after Perkins buys the shepherd from the county for $1.
“My son Andrew was 6 when I first got Drago. It was snowing, and Andrew knelt down looking out a window at the snow. He put his arm around Drago and this big shepherd put his head on my boy’s shoulder. I knew right there that this was it.”
Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.
