VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office held a final walkout Monday morning for one of its K9 dogs, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
Candy, a German shepherd, was diagnosed last week and the disease has progressed quickly. She was the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office's first narcotics-detection dog and was set to retire this year at 11 years old.
During the walkout, deputies lined a hallway at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center and saluted Candy's final departure from work. She carried her favorite tennis ball and was escorted by her family: Master Deputy II Anthony “Tony” Natalzia, his wife and their three children.
“Candy was a true pro. She was the first VBSO K9, the OG,” Natalzia wrote in a news release. “She loved to work; she lived for it. There is no doubt in my mind she stayed strong and continued to fight until she just could not anymore. The bond and trust we had was something I had never experienced before. Candy will be missed.”
Candy was one of three K9s within the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office's K9 unit. The other two are Gaston, a 7-year-old German shepherd certified in detecting explosives, and Pablo, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois being trained to detect narcotics.
Candy was the only K9 certified in detecting marijuana, which wasn't part of Pablo’s training because of the legalization of marijuana in Virginia.
“The Virginia Beach Correctional Center and this community are safer thanks to K9 Candy,” Virginia Beach Sheriff Rocky Holcomb wrote. “We are grateful for her service and for all our K9 deputies and their handlers. This is a hard loss for the VBSO."