K-9 finds new home after being dropped off at GA shelter by his former handler

LIBERTY COUNTY, Ga. — A retired Georgia K-9 has a new home after she was brought to an animal control shelter by her former handler. Now, the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office is trying to get answers as to why the dog was dropped off to begin with.

K-9 Kona was dropped off at the shelter last Monday by her former handler, who had adopted her after Kona’s retirement, Trevon Tolson.

“No notification was received from Liberty County Animal Control about the status of the retired canine. Sheriff Bowman would not agree to, and had no prior knowledge of, the retired canine being treated in this manner,” the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook.

The sheriff has now opened an internal investigation to look into the matter. As for Tolson, he has been reassigned to a patrol division and his current K-9 partner has been reassigned to a different handler.

Meanwhile, Kona has found a new home. Kevin Schwartz, of Charleston, has adopted Kona and is now working to put some weight on her.

TRENDING STORIES:

“I’ve been feeding her four cups every day, which is what Tommy, my trainer, told me to feed her,” Schwartz told WJCL-TV.

Schwartz said he had just recently lost his previous K-9 named Freya to cancer.

“I wasn’t looking for a dog, she just kind of fell in my lap. I mean, truthfully, I was thinking about how quiet it was in my house because Freya was gone. You know, you raise a dog for seven years, and then she’s no longer there. It’s like a child,” Schwartz said.

He told the TV station that he’s considering contacting the North Charleston Police Department to continue Kona’s training.

“I’ve heard they’ve got a K-9 unit, and so I was just going to call in and pick their brain and see if they’d be willing to let me train Kona with their dogs and see if they can actually bring some of her training back to life because I don’t think she’s been active since like December,” Schwartz said. “I don’t want her to just be a house dog. She’s got way too much drive, way too much energy.”

IN OTHER NEWS:

This browser does not support the video element.