Palmer Township K-9 Officer Bady's days of protecting the Lehigh Valley are behind him.
The 10 1/2-year-old German shepherd-Belgian Malinois trained in explosives detection retired Tuesday, a little before partner Keith Border had wanted him to hang it up.
Bady was diagnosed with cancer May 1. Border knew something was wrong because of a change in his behavior, he said.
Tuesday night, the Palmer Township Board of Supervisors honored Bady and Border's retirement from the police department's K-9 corps. Border had expected Bady to work into June, but his condition deteriorated.
"He's lucky he made it for this," Border said.
The retirement comes amid an ongoing explosives investigation in the region. State, local and federal authorities are probing more than 20 unexplained explosions since April 2 in Upper Bucks County.
Palmer Township K-9 Officer Bady joins partner Keith Border after being recognized for his retirement May 29, 2018, at a township supervisors' meeting. The 10 1/2-year-old German shepherd-Belgian Malinois mix trained in explosives detection was diagnosed with cancer May 1, Border said. (Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com)
On the force since March 2009, Bady helped make "non-bite apprehensions" and tackled explosives searches "for dignitaries in transit, and for the safety of the community events such as Celtic Fest, Musikfest and numerous bomb threats throughout the Lehigh Valley," supervisors' Chairman David Colver said in reading from a proclamation honoring the K-9 team.
Border got Bady when he was 1. He will live out the rest of his days with Border, who didn't have any special reward planned for Tuesday night once they got home.
"He's been eating good ever since he's been off the road," Border said.
Township police Chief Larry Palmer said he plans to look for another explosives detection once he has an officer volunteer for the position. The township also has two K-9s trained in narcotics detection and search.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.