Gabby, one of York County’s furriest law enforcers, dies a legend and a hero
In South Carolina, the law enforcer named Gabby needed no last name.
Gabby, who worked almost a decade at the York County Sheriff’s Office, was a state award winner and a loyal partner. She was also a bloodhound who helped track hundreds of suspects and worked to find missing people, according to the sheriff’s office.
She retired more than a year ago and died Tuesday after a cancer diagnosis, but Gabby’s service was the stuff heroes are made of.
Gabby received the South Carolina Medal of Valor in 2018 when she did not run away after her handler, Sgt. Randy Clinton, was shot. Clinton was wounded during a search for a man who killed a deputy and wounded other officers west of Rock Hill.
Clinton said after the January 2018 shooting Gabby was right there next to him as he was put in an ambulance. The dog’s tender touch meant both survived.
“She licked my face, and I knew my girl, (Gabby), was alive,” Clinton told The Herald after the shooting in 2018.
Human deputies lined up Tuesday to honor Gabby as she walked the kennel one last time before the end of her life. She walked with Sgt. Chris Kinsey, whom Gabby worked with at the end of her career.
In 2017, Gabby led police to the body of a slain Charlotte Uber driver who was found in York County. The dog and Clinton were recognized by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police for their work in that case.
Clinton, now retired, said Tuesday that Gabby’s loyalty defined the well-known police motto of serve and protect.
Gabby was the mother of puppies that became K-9 dogs in many places. One of her puppies, Cooper, is a current York County K-9 officer, too.
“Her legacy will live on through those dogs,” Kinsey said Tuesday.
