Murfreesboro, TN - Michael Romans was just 18 months old when he grabbed a leash and tugged German shepherd, Ginger, while his mother Paula trained the dog to “stay.”

“I’ve been around dogs all my life,” Romans said, explaining his grandfather Ross Babits and friend Pat Holladay trained dogs.

His love of dogs prompted Romans to become a K9 handler with bloodhounds Ethel, Cody and Georgia for 13 years at the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

Romans and Georgia retired together from the K9 duties Thursday. Romans will remain a deputy while 10-year-old Georgia will retire at Romans’ home.

He’s lost count of the number of missing people he and his K9 partners located safely during their careers.

His favorite find with Ethel is when they tracked a suicidal girl hiding near the landfill. When they located her, she was squatted down with her head in her lap.

"She looked up at Ethel and Ethel licked her in the face,” Romans remembered, explaining the action soothed the girl.

K9 Cody and Romans searched for a boy hiding in a dark woods at night. Romans called out the boy’s name.

“He popped right out,” Romans said.

Romans began training with Georgia when she was about 12 weeks old. She took her to schools during career days so students could learn about her duties.

One of Georgia and Romans’ first finds was a search for an elderly Cannon County man who could not speak.

“We found him 10 minutes later down a steep hill hanging onto a tree,” Romans said.

Another memorable call occurred when Romans and Georgia traveled in 100-degree plus temperatures to search for a mother, her young children and friend lost on a nature trail. They used a scent from their car to track them about one mile.

The Special Operations team transported them back to safety.

Romans remembers all the long hours they spent training.

“To find a person makes all the training worth it,” Romans said. “There’s no better feeling than your dog tracking somebody down and finding them.”

For Georgia, it was all about the treats she got when they located a missing person.

“I appreciate the Sheriff’s Office for allowing me to do a dream job, for all the help I got from the other K9 handlers and for the help from Sgt. Lee Young and Murfreesboro Police K9 Officer Angela Alexander and their support.”

When asked how Georgia would spend her retirement, Romans laughed.

“She will take it easy, lying on the couch and hanging out with Mom and (his wife) Shannon when I’m not home,” Romans said.