Base’s top dog retires after six years

Published 1:30 am Friday, February 27, 2026

A trusted canine companion of the Navy hung up his collar recently.

Freddy, an 8-year-old Dutch shepherd, concluded six years of service as one of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s military working dogs. Command leadership, including Capt. Nathan Gammache, and base security forces held a farewell ceremony for him on Feb. 12.

NAS Whidbey posted about Freddy’s retirement on Facebook the next day, calling him a “favorite” of the base’s military working dogs.

Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class Madison Leathers, the military working dogs’ supervisor, recalled a couple of highlights of Freddy’s career.

Once, he helped track down a bank robber, and another time, he showed off his detection skills attending a Pacific Northwest Police Detection Dog Association conference. He located “training aids embedded into the bead of a tire” buried eight feet underneath an abandoned theater, Leathers said.

Freddy is “lovable” with an “excellent” sense of smell, Leathers explained. What made him particularly beloved by his handlers during his time with the Navy, she added, is his obedience and his even-keeled demeanor.

Military working dogs are trained by handlers and Department of the Navy K9 Officers. They are vital to the Navy’s operations because “they provide capabilities that technology alone still cannot match,” according to Leathers. “Their roles directly support security, safety and operational readiness.”

Whether a dog has the ideal traits to work with the military boils down to whether they have strong genetics. Leathers explained that things like “prey and hunt drive,” and perseverance despite challenging environmental factors, fatigue or stress are some of those traits.

Freddy will spend his “golden years” with Miguel Romero, a Department of the Navy Police K9 handler and his new owner, according to the Facebook post.