Cop demoted after abandoning his retired police dog at shelter

A police officer has reportedly been demoted to patrol duty after abandoning his retired police dog at an animal shelter.

Police dog Ringo helped officer Carl Ellis with narcotics cases for nearly a decade before retiring from the Jackson Police Department in Mississippi, southern US in October, the Clarion Ledger reported.

The police department assumed that Mr Ellis was caring for the Labrador Retriever until the dog’s original trainer Randy Hare spotted the pooch on an animal shelter’s website.

“The treatment of dogs who are involved in law-enforcement is sometimes really, really good and sometimes it’s not so good,” Mr Hare, from the Alpha Canine Traning centre, told local outlet WAPT TV.

“A lot of times they’re treated like equipment and when they’re treated like equipment, sometimes they’re disposed of like equipment.”

Mr Hare later adopted Ringo from the animal shelter.

The police department demoted Mr Ellis to patrol duty after learning he gave up his canine companion according to local outlet the Clarion Ledger.

“The Jackson Police Department respects and holds our canines with high regard just as we do any other officer within our department,” the police department said in a statement emailed to the outlet.

“They are family, and we do not feel they deserve anything less than a loving home in retirement.”