The Belmont County Sheriff's Office is no longer using canines as part of its regular operations, but it's a decision that may not be permanent.

Sheriff Fred Thomspon said he made the decision last Friday as a move to save the office money. A recent lawsuit was also filed by a former deputy who is seeking payment for the cost of caring for his K-9, and that legal matter - one of many faced by the sheriff's office in recent years - put the icing on the cake when it came to the sheriff's decision to suspend the K-9 program.

"For the time being, I disbanded the canines because of this economics crunch," Thompson said. "Hopefully when the economy picks up a little, we'll get back in the canine program, but with everything going on here I thought it was wise to cease the canine operation."

Food, veterinary care and training of canines are all things that the sheriff said are costly. The need to have multiple deputies on some scenes to transport prisoners was another reason.

"Having a canine at a call meant they couldn't transport a prisoner because the dog was in the back seat," Thompson said. "That right there is going to save money, because we won't have the cost of having a second deputy going out to the same call to load up the person he just arrested and transporting the person to jail."

It doesn't mean however the county won't be entirely without canine units. Instead of using their own canine units, Thompson said his office will turn to other county law enforcement agencies, such as the Martins Ferry, Bellaire and Powhatan Point police departments, all of which have their own canine units.

"If we need a canine, we can call one of their officers with the canine," he said. Since taking office, Thompson said the number of sheriff's office canine units has decreased from four down to two.

One of the unit's handler and the dog went to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff said Joe Kress took employment there, and the Belmont County Sheriff's Office sold his K-9 and the K-9 cruiser to Monroe County for a minimal price. Subsequently, Kress filed a lawsuit in Columbus seeking money because he was not given the proper time off to care for the dog.

Another deputy no longer wanted to be a handler, Thompson said. Of the remaining two, one is Ringo, who has been with the office several years.

"He's about 12 years old and he's to the point where he's looking at retirement," Thompson said.

The other canine is Greta, a German shepherd who can still be called into service as needed, the sheriff said.

"She is a good tracking dog who can run on a scent," Thompson said. "In the event we do a search, we can call (Deputy Ron Miro) to bring out the dog."

Even though the canines will not be used for law enforcement, Thompson noted the handlers would get to keep their dogs.