Photo provided K9 Jari will retire to the life of a family pet with his handler Deputy Brandon Sellers and will reside with his family. Sellers is also leaving the department.
A K-9 with the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office is heading off to retirement being cared for by his handler after seven years of service.
The Bartholomew County Commissioners on Monday approved an agreement to allow K-9 Jari to retire to the life of family pet with handler Deputy Brandon Sellers.
“We’ve got a K-9 officer who’s going to be resigning from the department this week,” Maj. John Martoccia told the commissioners. “And this is basically an agreement to let him keep the dog.”
Martoccia said it’s typical to let the dog retire with its handler, who will be financially responsible for the now-pet.
“They’re kind of a team and they go together, don’t they?,” observed Commissioner Carl Lienhoop, R-District 2.
Sellers is continuing a career in law enforcement in his home county with the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, according to a press release.
K-9s assist law enforcement in drug detection, arresting suspects and public outreach initiatives, according to the sheriff’s office.
Martoccia said of Jari’s years of service that “some go longer, some don’t make it that long.”
Jari’s addition to the office was made possible after a 2019 donation from Janet Buchanan, a community member who made a sizable donation to the K-9 program, the sheriff’s office said.
