APD Narcotics dog retires after 2 years on the job

He's been fooling criminals since 2013, but today was "Bo" the poodle's last day as an Austin police dog. Bo the narcotics K-9 was nose deep in cake Tuesday at a retirement party thrown in his honor. For the past two years he's used his sense of smell to sniff out drugs and money.

His handler Detective Tom Hugonnett says he likely thought what you're thinking when he first met his partner.

"That's a narcotics dog? He's a poodle," said Hugonnett.

Once the two hit the streets he soon learned the advantages of having what appears to be a house pet.

"We were able to take him on things most dogs wouldn't be able to people would've been like oh that's got to be the cops nobody in their life would've dreamed Bo was a police dog," said Hugonnett.

During Bo's tenure with the department, he assisted in the seizure of 135 pounds of marijuana, 10 pounds of meth, 22 kilos of cocaine and more than $3.2 million dollars in cash.

Now Bo will spend his days at Hugonnett's home.

"He's going to be a full-time house dog," he said.

Hugonnett is leaving the narcotics unit. The bond between handler and dog is too strong to be broken. So Bo is retiring to be Hugonnett's permanent partner.

"I always wanted to be a K-9 handler. I'm going to miss being able to go out and run the dog. It's a bond that I don't know that regular patrol you can get from that. I'm glad he's coming with me."