Darien Police K-9 Retires After 5 Years Of Service

DARIEN, CT — After over five years of service, the Darien Police Department has made the decision to allow K-9 Kenny to enjoy a well-deserved retirement.

Kenny, now 9-years-old, was first placed into service in Darien with handler Leslie Silva on June 2, 2017, after several months of intensive training.

Certified by both the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association and the North American Police Work Dog Association, Kenny was deployed over 100 times throughout his career for the purpose of detecting narcotics not only for investigations taking place in Darien, but in several neighboring towns, according to a news release from Darien police.

Kenny and Silva also assisted in investigations conducted by the Connecticut State Police and federal agencies.

Named after fallen Darien police officer Kenneth Bateman Jr., who was shot and killed in the line of duty on May 31, 1981, Kenny worked his final patrol shift on Nov. 28, police said in a news release.

Since then, Silva was appointed to detective and took over full ownership of Kenny, who will now life out his golden years at home with Silva and her son.

Silva noted that Kenny is adjusting to retirement well, and is no longer a "food reward" working dog. He's able to eat his emails and enjoy his treats just like any other dog, according to police.

"We would like to extend our appreciation to the Stamford Police Department and Lt. Seth O’Brien for playing such a crucial role in Kenny’s regular monthly training," Darien police said in a news release. "Although we will miss seeing Kenny at 'Coffee With A Cop' and all of the other community events that he regularly attended, we wish him the best in his retirement."