Today Thor is learning how to adjust to a new phase in his life...retirement. Thor is settling into his new life but it has not all been easy. “It can take awhile for a police dog to come out of work mode,” said Lamle. “Every morning Thor knows when I start to get up for the day. I can hear him in his kennel getting agitated and whining, ready to go with me.” It has been tough on Lamle too. “Sometimes during the day or when I am coming in from work I just feel like I am forgetting something then I realize, Oh...Thor isn’t with me,” he said. While not quite ready to be an indoor lap dog, Thor is bonding with Lamle’s oldest son. “The first time we brought him into the house to let him sleep in Hunter’s room
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Thor went into building search mode,” Lamle said. Introducing Thor to indoor living may have to wait a while longer. In the mean time Hunter has taken over Thor’s care by feeding and playing ball with him. Lamle laughs about Thor’s ‘tough dog’ persona. Thor is hardheaded and wants to be seen as a tough dog. “My wife bribes him with cheese treats. I think he likes her more than me,” he said. “She has long finger nails and will scratch him through his kennel. I look out and there is Thor just leaning against her getting scratched and he is groaning and loving it. When Thor sees me he instantly jumps away looking around to make sure I did not catch him being a big softie. He is all over my wife unless he knows I am there, then he just ig-
nores her.” Lamle loves his job and his partner. He knows that without the support of his family he could not do what he does. For now Lamle is working as a solo officer but he looks forward to getting another dog. Thor’s official retirement ceremony is being held at the 2013 Paws 4 the Cause Dachshund Dash. The money this year will help the city with the purchase of a new dog for Lamle. With many departments expanding from German Shepherds to Belgian Malinois or Dutch Shepherds, Lamle was asked if he had a breed preference. His answer... “A tough one.”