The Face of County Police K-9s Retires

A big name in the County Police Department is retiring after 56 dog years (eight human years) in service to the community.

K-9 Bonnie got a raucous sendoff on her last day of work Sept. 6. Bonnie spent seven years combating child exploitation with the County's Cyber Crime Task Force by tracking down the scent of CDs, mobile devices and hard drives that criminals use to store illicit images. Last year she and her handler, Officer Brigid Oldani, transitioned to the role of School Resource Officer.

We caught up with Bonnie before her big farewell to ask her about everything from sleuthing to schooling.

Q: How many cyber crimes did you help solve over the years?
"It's tough to keep track because I only have 16 little toes to help me count things, but my guess is I worked around 300 cases while I was working cyber."

Q: When you were on a case, did you ever get stumped trying to find proof of a crime?
"Some bad guys think they're clever trying to hide their stuff, but I've got a nose for this. It doesn't matter how many sock drawers or bookshelves you hide your flash drives in-I'll find them."

Q: How would you describe your relationship with your partner, Officer Oldani?
"She's alright. I could use a few more treats-Just kidding. Brigid and I work great together. We're inseparable. And I've got her pretty well trained after eight years."

Q: Why did you switch from Cyber Crime to being a School Resource Officer support dog?
"I was having a few health issues, so I needed to slow down a bit. My whole career has been about helping kiddos, so this was a good way to spend my last year on the job. And it's been a big boost to my daily belly rub quota."

Q: Was it ever difficult to work on crimes involving children?
"Cases involving kids are tough for everyone involved-even the officers. I just try to be there for my team and let them know it will be alright. And with the kids, that's why I like going out to lots of events and giving out as many hugs as I can, just to let all the kiddos know somebody cares about them."

Q: What are you planning to do after you retire?
"Right now I'm mentoring my replacement, who's going to be out and about with Brigid. After that, I've got a pile of reading to catch up on. No electronic books, though-I don't like to take work home with me."

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.