WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) – Purdue University's first police dog is heading into retirement after seven years of service.

A retirement ceremony was held Thursday for Nicky, a Dutch Shepherd that joined Purdue's police department in 2008.

WLFI-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1BOxdT4 ) that Nicky has been deployed nearly 600 times, resulting in about 275 arrests over the last seven years.

Officer Andy Standifer has been Nicky's handler. He says the dog is nearly 10 and is starting to get a little sore. 

Standifer says Nicky has performed drug-detections and other duties that helped his officer counterparts in situations they couldn't handle alone.

Nicky will remain with Standifer's family during his retirement. His successor is expected to join the department this spring.