JACKSON, Mississippi -- A Jackson police officer was demoted after he dropped his retired K-9 off at an animal shelter.
Officer Carl Ellis, who was the handler for Ringo, surrendered to a local animal shelter, according to a statement issued by the Jackson Police Department on Tuesday night, according to The Jackson Clarion-Ledger.
K-9 Ringo retired from the force in October.
Officials said that Ringo was believed to be living with his handler, but once the department learned of the dog's surrender and later adoption, Ellis was "reassigned to patrol duty."
"The Jackson Police Department respects and holds our canines with high regard just as we do any other officer within our department," the statement reads. "They are family, and we do not feel they deserve anything less than a loving home in retirement."
In 2000, Congress passed and then-President Bill Clinton signed Robby's Law to allow retired military and police dogs to be adopted by their handlers.
To prevent any other retired K-9s from being surrendered, Jackson Police Chief James Davis has "immediately implemented protocol which requires quarterly welfare checks for all canines, both active duty and retired."
