One of the Suffolk Police Department’s most decorated former officers died peacefully on Jan. 12.

Otto, a sable-colored German shepherd, was euthanized after an ongoing battle with hip pain and then the discovery of tumors in his lungs, said his handler and owner, Master Police Officer Tyson Wild.

Otto stopped working in September 2013 but still was a part of the Wild and Suffolk Police families. He was one of four dogs the department acquired in 2004 when it started its K-9 program.

But Otto wasn’t even supposed to come to Suffolk. When the officers arrived at a vendor in Ohio to pick them up back in 2004, one of the dogs they had planned on getting had failed to become certified.

“The only other dog they said they had available at the time ended up being Otto,” Wild said.

Otto soon developed quite a reputation among criminals in the city.

“He was one of our most feared dogs in Suffolk,” Wild said. “He was notorious for being aggressive on the street, to say it lightly.”

But Wild said Otto knew when it was time for work and time for relaxation. Otto played with his two children and his other dogs at home, and he never had any reservations about having Otto around.

“A lot of people say it’s just like a light switch,” Wild said. “When he got in the car, he was nasty as could be, and when he got home, he turned off and was a typical dog.”

Otto racked up many accolades during his nine years of service. He received six outstanding performance awards from the German Shepherd Dog Club of Eastern Virginia, as well as several departmental commendations. He had about 30 apprehensions, 150 building searches, 200 tracks and 300 drug searches to his credit. He led the department’s dogs in apprehensions, evidence recovery and drug finds.

Otto’s talents were multiple, being involved not just in narcotics searches but also in patrolling and tracking, both for suspects as well as people who were lost.

Wild recalled one particularly memorable search several years ago in Portsmouth, where police were dealing with a string of commercial burglaries.

Officers were sitting in the parking lot of a restaurant when the alarm went off, so they knew the burglar was still in the building.

The dogs in Portsmouth had gotten off work at 3 p.m., so Wild and Otto, who were on midnight shift for most of Otto’s career, were called in.

“We searched the building, but he kept going back to the kitchen,” Wild said. “He just wouldn’t leave the kitchen alone.”

But Otto wasn’t giving any indication that he had found the suspect, which left Wild baffled until he noticed Otto had “just very subtly looked up at the ceiling.”

“Sure enough, we pulled back the ceiling tiles, and the guy was curled up in the ceiling,” Wild said. “That ended their string of commercial burglaries.”

After Otto’s retirement, he continued to live with the Wilds.

“He just became a lazy guard dog,” Wild said. “He loved it, because his life (before) was so regimented.”

When Otto retired, Wild got a new K-9 partner, Chamba.

“He is the complete opposite of Otto in almost every way, except they’re both awesome at what they do,” Wild said.

However, he won’t soon be forgetting Otto.

“It’s a weird relationship you develop,” Wild said.