MOUNT DORA – After serving four years on the Mount Dora Police force, K-9 Officer Stryker is set to retire on December 2 according to Mount Dora spokeswoman Lisa McDonald.
Stryker, a five and half-year-old Belgian Malinois and his handler Officer Adam McCulloch have worked as a team since Stryker joined the force. Together they made over 140 arrests, seized guns, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana and prescription pills during their service.
According to McDonald, Stryker recently suffered an off-duty injury in which he underwent surgery to repair a disc in his spine.
Shortly after his surgery, Stryker encountered more complications and was diagnosed with a large mass in his intestines. Stryker underwent a second surgery and is now undergoing at-home rehabilitation.
“I would like to thank everyone for the sincere thoughts about Stryker,” said Officer McCulloch. “Every week he has been going through physical therapy to learn how to walk and do simple
things we take for granted like sitting, standing, laying down, and even running.”
“After careful consideration, it was decided to retire Stryker from service on December 2, 2017. Our first concern is for Stryker’s well-being and to ensure he is able to recover and live a full life with Officer McCulloch and his family as a retired K9 of the Mount Dora Police Department,” said McDonald in a statement.
The K-9 program of the Mount Dora Heroes Foundation, a non-profit organization, will cover all of Stryker’s medical expenses once he is retired to ensure McCulloch and his family are not burdened with the excessive costs for a K-9 who has accomplished so much for the Mount Dora Community.
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