HOLLAND, MI (WHTC) – Niki the K-9 who is the only female K-9 for the Holland Department of Public Safety (HDPS) is now retired at the age of 35. That’s 35-years-old in dog years.
Niki who is an 8-year-old Malinois was honored in a ceremony at Petapalooza 2017 in Holland on Sunday, June 11. Dispatch sent out the call to all units announcing her retirement after working on the HDPS force for five years.
Niki’s handler Officer Joel Reimink reminisced about Niki saying it’s bittersweet.
“You look back at the last five years and all good stuff that we had. All the people we found, all the , all the drug that we found, yeah it’s gonna be a rough day. Nike is hyper, high strung, but very social. It goes with the Malinois breed, but she’s really social. One of the things people will remember about Niki is that she loves to greet everyone at the police department when they walk in.
Niki has been a part of Reimink’s family for the last five years as much as she could be, staying in a kennel in his home. Now she will be a house pet for the family.
Niki has some health issues that have made it difficult for her to continue to perform her duties. She leaves behind three other male K-9’s at the police department.
Reimink has started the process of finding a new K-9 to join the department.
You can check out a video of Niki on Facebook showing some of the duties she was famous for like jumping over a car.
