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1st Handler- Detective Bo Davis
2nd Handler- Detective Mike Hoekstra
3rd Handler – Detective Mark Gregory
Rutherford County K-9 Balu remembered as faithful partner
Retired Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Balu was remembered as a detective’s best friend after providing eight years of crime fighting service. “He was a great partner,” Detective Mark Gregory said of Balu who died last week at age 12. “He watched over me any second I was out of the car on traffic stops and everything else.” The German shepherd had joined the force in 2011, working with Detective Bo Davis and Detective Mike Hoekstra before going on to become Gregory’s partner. The two worked 40-hour weeks together for 4½ years with Balu helping to develop over 100 felony cases, according to Gregory. Balu was trained to detect illegal narcotics and apprehend suspects accused of felonies. Balu led his partners to a number of illegal drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin and 52 pounds of marijuana in his career. On Balu’s final day with the department, he located 12 kilos of cocaine worth about $1 million in a tractor trailer, Gregory said. The K-9 was also trained to sprint toward gunfire. In July of 2017, Balu and Gregory worked to protect each other when two murder suspects began firing rounds into their sheriff’s cruiser during a pursuit on Interstate 24. Neither was injured.After retiring from the K-9 unit in 2019, Balu became a Gregory family pet and spent his time chewing on tires and playing with other dogs.
