K9 Duke to Retire After Eight Years of Service in Oskaloosa

Oskaloosa K9 Officer Austin Rogers and his partner Duke recently helped to track down a suspect in connection with the Ottumwa officer involved shooting. (file photo)

OSKALOOSA — After nearly eight years of service, K9 Duke with the Oskaloosa Police Department will retire at the end of this week, marking the end of a long career helping protect the community.

Duke, an all black German Shepherd and partner of Sergeant Austin Rogers, has worked in Oskaloosa and surrounding areas since joining the department. Over the years, the K9 team assisted with tracking suspects, locating narcotics, and helping officers safely handle potentially dangerous situations.

Everyone, including the public is invited to attend a retirement celebration for Duke on Friday, April 17, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Oskaloosa Police Department, located at 214 High Avenue East. The event will be held inside the Emergency Operations Center, with staff directing visitors from the main entrance.

During his time on duty, Duke was involved in multiple arrests and helped officers in several tense situation. In many cases, just his presence helped stop suspects decide to give up peacefully. In other cases, he was deployed to help take suspects into custody when they refused to comply.

Rogers said he began noticing about a year ago that Duke was slowing down. After training days, Duke was not as active and showed signs of stiffness and fatigue later in the evening. Because of this, the decision was made to retire Duke so he can live a more relaxed life.

Duke will remain with Rogers and his family after retirement. In addition to being a working dog, Duke has also been big part of the Rogers family at home, where he has spent time around Rogers’ children.

The K9 program in Oskaloosa will continue after Duke’s retirement. Rogers is preparing to welcome a new K9 partner named Roddie, (pronounced roadie), a German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix. Rogers new partner will come nearly fully trained and will then go through additional work before becoming fully active in the community.

The department’s K9 program relies on community support and donations to operate. Donations will be accepted at the event, and Duke plush toys will also be available for purchase.

Duke’s final patrol is expected to take place the day before the retirement event, which ironically is a training seminar Rogers is hosting for other K9’s and their partners.

Community members are encouraged to attend and thank Duke for his years of service to Oskaloosa and the surrounding area.