HOBART | A member of the Police Department's canine unit has left behind his life as a working dog and is moving on to a slower-paced existence as a house pet.

The Board of Works last month granted Fello Vom Ortenberg the clearance to retire from the Police Department.

Fello, a 7-year-old male German shepherd, no longer can perform his law enforcement duties due to physical limitations, City Attorney John Bushemi said.

He said the transfer had to be approved because the Police Department considers the dog personal property.

Michael Abramson, of Crown Point, paid $1 to adopt Fello.

Abramson, who works as a paramedic at St. Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point, said he enjoys the fact that Fello has been a working dog.

And he plans to keep Fello fresh on his commands but then allow him time for a break if that is his wish.

"I'm a dog lover, and I believe dogs were originally bred to work," he said. "I'll let him do as much as he wants to do. We all know what it's like to retire so I want to give (him) his retirement as well."

Fello will have a female companion with which to spend his retirement, Abramson said.

Abramson and his daughter also own a female German shepherd.

He said it's his understanding that Hobart police Officer Darren Sandilla, with whom Fello now lives, isn't able to keep him as a house pet because he is in the process of training another male dog for the unit.