K9 Roxy fetches praise and donuts at her retirement party

CLARKESVILLE, Ga. — Roxy’s farewell gala was fun for the 30 or so officials and civilians who came to bid the bomb-sniffing dog goodbye on Thursday morning. For Roxy herself, the big attraction was a prolonged game of fetch, as a series of human admirers tossed her favorite rubber ball so she could jump on it, bring it back, and resume the important task of chewing on it.

No bombs to search today.

Roxy, a bomb-sniffing 9½-year-old German Shepherd born in the Netherlands and trained in Savannah, Georgia, will see her last day of service on Monday. She’s been with the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office since January 2018. The dog and her handler, Sheriff’s Lt. Eugene Kemp, entertained friends and admirers at an event for the public, with donuts, cookies, and lemonade, and lots of accolades at the county court building.

Habersham County Sheriff Robin Krockum played and posed with the energetic canine, as did a score of admirers from as far as 900 miles away. The Roland and Franze families were visiting from Melissa, Texas, north of Dallas, and—dog lovers all—couldn’t resist stopping in on the Roxy party after their Clarkesville host told them about it. “We just love dogs,” one of the group explained.

But most of the visitors were local, including Superior Court Judge Carlton H. Jones, III, who took a break from a drug case in another courtroom to show his appreciation for Roxy’s service in his own court. For years, the dog has done a full examination of the space—looking for weapons or any other bomb-like object—in the early morning, before any human judge, lawyer, plaintiff, or defendant takes their place.

Jim Butterworth of Demorest, former state senator and county commission chair, came by to pay his respects. During his brief tenure as Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) director, Butterworth found state funds to bring Roxy’s predecessor, Tito, to Habersham.

“Roxy has done amazingly well in her tenure,” Butterworth said. He said he saw the need years ago, when “I noticed that a lot of the other Metro Atlanta counties were starting to get active with canines…I called (former Sheriff) Joey Terrell—we’ve been friendly for years—and I floated the idea. It just sort of took off.”

Even the federal government was represented at Roxy’s retirement party.

Connor Land, field representative for Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Athens), showed up, offering congratulations from the congressman, patted Roxy, and chatted with Kemp and the other uniformed personnel.

And the president himself weighed in. On a table by the entrance lay a letter, reading in part, “Melania and I join your family, friends, and colleagues, in commending you on your distinguished career in law enforcement and we send our sincere thanks for helping to ensure the safety of our communities.” It was signed with the customary presidential signature.

Roxy took the kudos in stride, but mainly, she wanted Kemp’s young grandchildren to throw the ball… again.

At morning’s end, Roxy and Kemp headed off in their specially outfitted van, with three more days of duty waiting before she begins her retirement years at the Kemps’ Alto home.

Kemp thinks Roxy will miss her work, which she regards as play. But it’s another dog’s turn now.