"Enough of this work stuff, let the real fun begin," was written across the board at the Coeur d'Alene Police Department Thursday afternoon, along with, "Thank you Maxx for eight years of honorable service."

Officers and friends of the German shepherd gathered at the department to honor the K9 with a retirement ceremony, but Maxx just wanted his hard rubber Kong toy. Even when an officer attempted to give him ice cream to celebrate his retirement, Maxx ignored it and whined for his toy — although he did sniff under the plate when officer Andy Sterling pointed to it, thinking it was a signal for him to work.

"He is a really good dog," Sterling said. “He's obsessed, as you can see, for that Kong and that's kind of the drive that we are looking for when we are looking for narcotics."

Sterling said the typical career for a police dog is about eight years and Maxx's retirement is due to his age and recommendations from his veterinarian.

At 10, Maxx has worked most of his life as a single-purpose narcotics K9, primarily searching for marijuana and methamphetamine but was also trained for heroin and cocaine in Alabama where he was "signature trained" before entering the police force.

"When we got him, I was trained how to work Maxx," Sterling said. "Maxx already knew what to do."

Maxx worked full-time, 40 hours a week, going home with Sterling at night and playing fetch with Sterling and his kids.

Maxx was not with Sterling for his entire career. He spent time with two other handlers from the Coeur d'Alene Police Department — officers Amy Knisley and Eric Paull.

"During his career with Officer Paull he had 75 finds, with Amy 78, and with Andy 168 drug finds — he's been very, very busy," said Chief Lee White.

Sterling is currently training his new partner, K9 Halo, a 2-year-old German shepherd born in Slovakia.

Halo will be a dual-purpose K9. Unlike Maxx who was trained solely in narcotics, Halo is a patrol dog used for tracking, apprehension and protection. He will eventually be trained in narcotics as well.

"That's a lot of training and a lot of different disciplines that dog has to work on," Sterling said.

Patrol requires 240 hours of training for the K9 and narcotics training is another 160 hours.

But, since Halo is taking over, Maxx is ready to enjoy his retirement playing fetch with Sterling and his family.

As the guests began to file out of the room, Maxx opened one of the presents that had been given to him — a brand-new Kong toy.