K9 Otto to retire from Sheriff’ Office after 8 years

Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke

Provided photo: Jeff Cole is shown with Otto. The two have worked together the past eight years.

ALBION – K9 Otto has served the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office for 8 years and is scheduled to retire soon.

Otto was born in Holland on July 26, 2014, and was imported through Upstate K9 in October 2016 where he was then paired with Deputy Jeff Cole. Throughout his career so far, Otto has worked over 22,000 hours, has 192 deployments and has patrolled over 175,000 miles in Orleans County. Otto has also loved participating in community events and putting on demonstrations.

The Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit serves all of Orleans County, including assisting the Village Police Departments when needed. We also help our neighboring counties whenever needed. When incidents occur, it is always a collaborative effort with the Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit and our law enforcement partners.

“Words cannot begin to describe how much Otto means to me, my family, the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and the community he has so faithfully served,” Cole said. “He has been a great partner.”

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office is looking to purchase another dog to fill the spot of Otto when he retires.

“The next dog has big shoes to fill,” Cole said.

Deputy Cole plans to purchase Otto from the county so he can finish his retirement years in the home he has known most of his life.

The training and certification process requires a tremendous commitment of time and effort on behalf of Deputy Cole and the Sheriff’s Office, but the value of this team is beyond any monetary value. One lost child or elderly person found, one piece of evidence found by the K9 for a critical case to help a victim, drugs found in a search to keep them out of the hands of loved ones…the list goes on.

There are costs involved with obtaining and deploying a K-9 Team. In our case we have an experienced handler in Deputy Cole, but choosing the correct dog is critical to success. The dog must possess the right physical capabilities, temperament, and clarity to complete the training and become certified. K-9 training includes obedience, tracking, article search and apprehension ability for the less than lethal option we need to have available to us. We then add the Drug Detection or Bomb Detection training as well.

Sheriff Christopher Bourke and the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office appreciate any support possible from businesses and community members, as we look forward to continuing the Sheriffs K9 Team with Deputy Cole and a new partner.

Thank you!