New K9 introduced at Polk County Sheriff's Office

Polk County deputies back on patrol with a new four-legged partner just months after that devastating shootout forcing her previous K9, we all know Ace, to retire. Yeah, back in August, you might remember K9 Ace, he lost his leg after being shot in the line of duty. And our Fox 13's Carla Byron explains how this new recruit is all thanks to a generous donation, actually from a trainer in Georgia, with deep ties to the agency. It's all smiles from Polk County Deputy Natalie A. Strike and her new K9 partner Vader. He's a one year old German shepherd, the same breed as former K9 Ace who was forced to retire after being shot by an armed suspect in early August. Aces front left leg had to be amputated, but he's since received a prosthetic and is as happy as can be. I basically felt the right thing to do was to reach out to them and thank Eventually that turned into me donating their dog to her. Herb Bennett is the owner of HB Canines based in Georgia, which sells canines to the federal government and to police agencies. After seeing Ace and Natalie's story, you, Herb decided to donate a canine to the Polk Sheriff's office and Natalie picked Vader herself. Natalie's going through a lot and losing a dog. Tim. Just by natural causes is a big deal, and then having to have your career cut short with the partner you're on the street doing good things with is, I can only imagine. I've never had to deal with that personally. The bond you establish, and so I just felt we as a business felt it was the right thing to do and donated them the dog. Bennett is a former Polk County Sheriff's deputy K9 handler himself, and has remained close with the agency. Going forward, he hopes Natalie never goes through an incident like the one she and Ace faced again. Not to mention the fact that when I worked there, I was treated like family, and so. Yeah, that's what you do for family. In Polk County, Carla Byron, Fox 13 News. That's what you do indeed. Very nice donation. Love that ending.