Sheriff’s canine Argon retires from department

A valuable piece of the Perry County Sheriff’s Office recently retired and hung up his police vest.
Argon, a six-year-old dog trained in drug detection retired from the force two weeks ago. Argon had several drug apprehensions, helped with numerous narcotics arrests, and spent four years with the department.
“He was a vital part of the department and just a good overall dog,” Cpl. Ben Davis said.
Part of the reason Argon retired was the passing of the amendment 3 across the state of Missouri and in part of Perry County.
“About 99 percent of the police canines were cross trained in marijuana through the state,” Davis said. “With the legalization of marijuana, Argon had to go to an early retirement. He probably had another year or two of working left in him.”

Argon went through an eight-week training for marijuana, which included an additional 16 hours of training per month after the initial training. Argon was about 16 months when Perry County acquired Argon.
“It’s a lot of training, but it’s necessary to better serve the citizens of Perry County,” Davis said.
On the day of his retirement, Argon also turned six years old, so the department threw a small party for him.
“He’s a healthy dog,” Davis said. “I thought he really enjoyed the party and will enjoy retirement.
In his retirement, Argon will stay at the Davis residence and live out his days.
“He’s just a regular dog now,” Davis said. “A very well-trained regular dog. When I go fishing he will get to tag along.”