Exclusive | NYPD K9 back on duty to honor detective handler who died after retiring

A retired NYPD K-9 is barking back to active duty — marking a historic first for Gotham’s elite four-legged crimefighters.Mahmoud, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois, had been enjoying retirement for about two months until his NYPD handler, Detective Kirk Boone, died of natural causes in July shortly after retiring, according to officials.NYPD dogs usually retire with their handlers because they’ve worked and lived together for so long.But Boone’s family thought returning the pooch to service would be a way to honor the detective, said Detective Jeremy Lucca, Mahmoud’s new handler.“Unfortunately, he passed away and his dog obviously retired with him,” Lucca said.“But to honor that and to honor his legacy, the family thought it would be most fitting to have his dog come out of retirement and continue the service.” “It’s an absolute honor to carry on a part of Kirk Boone and also Officer Mahmoud with K9 Mahmoud,” Lucca said. Mahmoud — who is named after Boone’s prior human partner in the 75th Precinct, Officer David Mahmoud, who died of 9/11-related cancer in 2010 — was assigned to Lucca in August and has been receiving training to bring him back up to ‘sniff.’“We’re just finishing up a search and rescue program where they’ll be certifying, hopefully, next week,” he said Thursday, explaining that the dog is learning new tricks.

And he’s been hard at work since his return, fetching overtime details around the city, Lucca said.“We helped cover the US Open, the United Nations General Assembly,” he said.“We have some details coming up the rest of the year.

And yeah, we’re going to still hone his skills and work together and hopefully get certified in a couple of the specialties.” Mahmoud is also a trained cadaver- and drug-sniffing dog, Lucca said, adding that he’d known Mahmoud during the dog’s time with Boone, who had been his friend.“So I knew his characteristics,” Lucca said.“I just didn’t know exactl...