(Lawrenceville, Georgia)  Since October 2008, K9 Bella has been a very important member of the Gwinnett County Police Department.  And on April 19, she officially retired from police work.  Her working days have consisted of narcotic-detection and tracking missing people.  Her retirement days are much different.  Now, she enjoys chasing squirrels in the backyard, playing fetch, and entertaining her 2 and 6-yr old human brothers.  She will live out the remainder of her life with her partner, Sgt. Christian Adams, his wife, and their 2 boys. 

If given the opportunity, Bella would return back to work immediately.  So even though her mind is ready for the daily tasks of police work, her body was starting to show its age.  Arthritis and an injury last fall had taken its toll on her. 

Bella was born in Slovakia in 2007 and came to the United States shortly thereafter.  Sgt. Adams obtained her from Southern Police Canine, a police training canine facility in North Carolina.  She is an aggressive alert Belgian Malinois.  Bella was originally just a single purpose narcotic K9 when Sgt. Adams obtained her, but he trained her in tracking missing people and evidence recovery.  

Unlike the K9s assigned to the K9 Unit, Bella was not trained in suspect-apprehension.  Her one notable exception was locating a shoplifter who stole a jacket from REI near the Mall of Georgia.  Bella tracked the suspect through the woods at night and located him hiding in a stream.  She likely thought she was just looking for a missing person, and essentially she was. 

Sgt. Adams and Bella spent 6 years assigned to the Highway Interdiction Team and another 2 years in the Narcotics Unit.  Bella's narcotic alerts have led to hundreds of arrests, and she has worked with numerous agencies including the DEA, FBI, ICE, Homeland Security, GBI, and U.S. Postal Inspectors.  The following is an estimate of her seizures:

• U.S. Currency – $3,488,519.00 
• Marijuana – Over 4,000 lbs.
• Cocaine – Over 67 Kilograms 
• Crack Cocaine – 73.2 grams 
• Methamphetamine – Over 1,048 lbs. 
• Heroin – Over 5.9 Kilograms 
• Ecstasy – Over 161 grams 
• Hash – 90 grams
• Cars for forfeiture – over 100
• Guns – several dozen

In addition to daily tasks, Bella has done several demonstrations at schools and met countless people over the years.

Though Bella is retiring, narcotic-detection will continue.  In April 2015, the Gwinnett County Police Department obtained K9 Viking.  He was born in Hungary in May of 2013 and is currently assigned to Sgt. McMenomy.  He will continue in Bella’s footsteps as the department’s newest narcotic-detection K9.

Link to photos:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jh6y515owaral0j/AABiw2Bw1EoSTmX96_XZd1rea?dl=0