The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department would like to thank K-9 “Windy” for her dedication to serving the communities of Riverside County over the last five years. Effective July 10, 2019, K-9 Windy will be retired due to an unforeseen medical illness.
K-9 Windy began her service with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in May of 2014, at the young age of seven weeks old. K-9 Windy and her partner, Deputy Robert Ochoa, worked together as she became a hardworking and successful law enforcement trailing dog. Over the course of her short, five-year career, she has trailed countless miles from the mountains of Los Angeles County to the desert of Riverside County, to the swamps of South Carolina, and everywhere in between! Windy has located numerous suspects, has helped solve violent crimes and reunite families with their lost loved ones. With almost fifty finds under her belt and countless investigative leads located, Windy found herself facing her greatest battle in February of this year.
During a training seminar in Orange County, Windy became ill and was rushed to California Veterinary Specialists in Murrieta where she met Dr. Lisa Prior (Internal Medicine). Dr. Prior had a special connection with Windy as she had helped Windy on a search in the Ortega Mountains a year prior. During the search, Dr. Prior was on horseback and helped locate the missing person! Dr. Prior put in countless hours to help Windy and was able to get her back on the road to recovery and back to work. Once back at work, Windy hit the ground running, helping her patrol brothers and sisters locate four missing persons and one violent felon. Unfortunately, while on one of her searches, K-9 Windy became ill again but this time, with Valley Fever. Dr. Prior and her staff have been working their hardest to help Windy to fight this, the toughest battle yet. With Windy facing multiple challenging illnesses, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is medically retiring our four-legged hero so she can get the much-needed rest she needs to continue her fight for wellness. Windy will be retiring to her handler’s home, where she will continue to be surrounded by the love and support of her family. K-9 Windy would like to thank every one of you who have shown support, followed her on social media and loved on her while she was out serving her community.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Team has their own non-profit organization which takes care of retired canines; please go to the following web address to learn more about the organization. http://www.riversidesheriffk9team.com/donate.html.