Peru police K-9 Maddox ‘happily retires’

K-9 officer Maddox retired from the Peru Police Department after five years of service alongside his handler, Sgt. Matt Peters.

Maddox retired Oct. 1, after Peters had a duty-related injury during an arrest in June.

“By the time I had the surgery and recovery … I’m still not back to full duty,” he said. “He’s just been out so long. … I wasn’t able to keep up with proper training and decided it’d probably be best because of my additional duties as a sergeant.”

Peters said the decision to have Maddox retire was one of the hardest he’s had to make.

“It’s been pretty much the best time in my career,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun, a lot of hard work, but it’s very rewarding. Just missing having him with me and doing that kind of work is probably the hardest.”

Peru Police Chief Sarah Raymond said sergeants usually don’t have K-9s, so Maddox’s retirement also is the end of Peters’ era as a handler.

“Part of his career is done, and he moves on to the leadership role,” she said.

During his time with the department, Maddox and Peters made numerous drug seizures and arrests, Raymond said.

Raymond said in 2021 Maddox and Peters assisted the Drug Enforcement Administration to recover a large sum of drug money from a Walmart parking lot in Peru.

Peters said Maddox’s main capability was tracking cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

Peters only will miss Maddox while he is at work because Maddox has been “happily retired” at home with Peters’ wife, Tabitha.

“My wife’s spoiling him,” he said. “He’s a puddle now.”

Raymond said the department has no plans to get another K-9 at this time. The department has K-9 Ny, with her handler, officer Hunter Wright.

“We’re going to stick with one for now,” Raymond said, “just until we can get back to full strength in the department and get everybody settled into their shifts.”