GENOA TWP., Ohio (WCMH)–An 8-year-old German Shepherd police K9 was sold to his handler for $1 in Genoa Township Thursday night.

Gandolf was officially retired from the police department after his career was derailed by a life-threatening illness. Gandolf will continue living with his handler, Officer Jason Berner, and his family.

Gandolf was an intense, high-energy dog until he suffered a serious intestinal condition that required surgery in 2014. Police Chief Steve Gammill said the veterinarian called the dog’s survival “a miracle.”

“When we asked the vet for a prognosis, she said ‘we don’t know, we’ve never seen another dog survive this surgery’,” Gamill said.

Gandolf did survive the surgery but was never quite the same.

So, with a few tears and a standing ovation from a full-house at the township trustee meeting, Gandolf was officially retired.

Gandolf’s retirement has opened the door for Ben, a not quite 2-year-old Belgian Malinois. Ben was sworn in as the newest member of the department. His handler, Officer Mike Sigman, said getting the opportunity to work as part of a K9 team is a dream come true.

“To have him is one of the most special things so far in my law enforcement career,” Sigman said.

For the last six weeks, Sigman and Ben have been training and getting to know one another.

“He’s very, very fast obviously and he’s trained to bite and to protect me,” Sigman said. Ben is trained in narcotics, apprehension and tracking.

Ben will now be the K9 face of the police department and he showed on his first day on the job  how good he is.

“We were able to get some drug paraphernalia on a traffic stop,” Sigman said. “So his very first use… we were able to do our job and get some narcotics.”

Among those attending the trustees meeting was professional golfer Jason Day, who lives in the township. Day is known to be a strong supporter of the police department’s K9 program. Chief Gammill said the program relies on private donations.What others are clicking on: