Calif. K-9 who Trained at Disneyland, Guarded Mike Pence Retires

California Highway Patrol K9 Pakito has trained behind the scenes at Disneyland and provided security for the Blue Angels and even Vice President Mike Pence.

Pakito's handler, Modesto CHP Officer Matthew Fowles, said those were his top three experiences as a K9 officer. But Pakito is happiest on regular duty, playing with his toy after a big drug bust or getting head scratches from kids after doing a demonstration at a local school.

After seven and a half years on the force, assisting in 245 apprehensions, more than 50 drug arrests and sniffing out hundreds of pounds of narcotics, the 84-pound Belgian Malinois is retiring.

Pakito, 9, is retiring Friday as the most senior CHP dog in the state both in terms of years of service and age.

It's not that Pakito isn't up for the job anymore; a few weeks ago, he found 17 pounds of fentanyl powder and 10 pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop. Fowles said the CHP wants to make sure its dogs get a chance at a happy retirement, too.

Pakito will be purchased from the CHP by Fowles for $1, going from partner to pet.

Fowles said he knows Pakito will miss the action, but he also has no doubt he'll enjoy being a dog of leisure.

Pakito, a K-9 with the California Highway Patrol in Modesto, is retiring after nearly eight years with the department.

As a police dog, Pakito must remain mostly in his kennel when off duty, both for training and liability reasons.

Soon he will "be able to come in the house and relax and sit on the couch or by the fire on the rainy days," Fowles said.

Pakito also will be able to join Fowles on family vacations to the beach or camping at lakes, where he can participate in one of his favorite pastimes: swimming

Even in retirement, Fowles suspects Pakito will pick up on scents as they waft through the air.

He has a keen sense of smell that has found narcotics in hollowed-out engine parts, seats, oil cans, roofs and other places.

Fowles said Pakito is a good all-around dog. While other dogs might have higher stats in apprehensions or narcotics detection, Pakito excels in both.

Furthermore, "He is probably one of our best K9 demo dogs in the area because he has that switch he can turn on and off," Fowles said. "He can go from doing bite work, (then the agitator) can take off the safety equipment and can walk right up and pet him. He will do his drug sniffing and then let a line of 50 or 60 kids pet him on the head."

Always a professional, Pakito still has his puppy moments.

To protect his feet from the hot asphalt in the summer, Fowles got Pakito some shoes.

"The first time he wore those, he looked like a baby giraffe; he was prancing up in the air trying to figure out what these things are," Fowles said. And "he sounds like a Clydesdale running down the hallway in them."

When Pakito started working in 2014, it was the first time in five years the Modesto CHP office had a K9. With has departure, the office again will be without a police dog, as the position will go to the Fresno office.

"He will be greatly missed by our officers and community," said the Modesto office's spokesman, Officer Tom Olsen. "He regularly attends community events and takes all my fame."

Pakito's fame extends to social media, too. Photos of him posing next to so many packages of meth they cover the hood of an SUV or plastic baggies filled with 100,000 fentanyl pills get hundreds of comments and likes on Modesto CHPs Facebook page.

"He's social media gold," Olsen said.

Fowles said Pakito's most popular Facebook photo shows him walking through a blossoming almond orchard after helping to detain a drunk driver who ran away from a crash.

Whether online or in person, Pakito's presence on the force will be missed.

"The positive impacts he had on so many citizens is countless and means so much to me," Fowles said. "Seeing the smiles he brought to so many faces, and the looks of defeat from the many he placed in handcuffs ... (he is) a very well-rounded K9 partner."

Pakito's stats

Over 50 narcotics arrests with seizures of: