An Indiana State Police K9 who was named after NASCAR driver and Columbus native Tony Stewart has retired.
Smoke, an 11-and-1/2-year old German shepherd, was purchased by the state police more than nine years ago with money provided by the Tony Stewart Foundation. Before his service in Indiana, the dog served for two years as a police K9 in Iowa.
The dog was named after Stewart’s well-known racing moniker “Smoke,” a nickname given to Stewart after blowing engines during a 1997 championship run in NASCAR.
In addition to donating money to purchase the dog, the Tony Stewart Foundation has also donated ballistic vests to the state police K9 program to protect several dogs.
Smoke spent his entire Indiana State Police career with his handler and best friend Master Trooper Kyle Freeman.
Freeman and Smoke primarily patrolled the Indianapolis area, making numerous drug arrests, state police troopers said.
For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.
