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GREENSBORO - For most, retiring (for a second time!) at twelve years old sounds like the ticket to an easy life. But Greensboro Police Department’s most recent retiree has seen more than enough in her career, and has continued to persevere through even the toughest of life’s challenges.
K-9 Mosley, an English chocolate lab, has spent her lifetime serving the citizens of Caroline with her nose, which her handler Sargent Jeff Adams describes as “unlike any other.” Adams was with the Federalsburg Police Department when he got Mosley in 2016, she was about 18 months old at the time.
“She was already imprinted on tracking and narcotics,” Adams explained. This means that Mosley is trained to detect drugs like heroin, cocaine, meth, and MDMA, and to follow specific scents – usually of missing or wanted individuals. Adams and Mosley trained as a team. “I was the greenhorn,” he said, “I was the one who had to be trained with her.”
Adams recalled being told back then that every handler had to go through a “bonding moment” with their dog, “You just got to go through it. You got to trust the dog, the dog has got to trust you. Every every handler goes through it,” he said. That moment came when just six months into their time together, Mosley tore her CCL, a crucial ligament in her back leg. Adams said that in the recovery period that followed, he carried her to and from the car, to work, to rehab, and home again, and they connected all the while. Once she was back on her feet again, “we were like an unstoppable force,” he said, “she was so easy to read.”
Due to a general lack of K-9 resources on the mid-Shore and especially in Caroline County, Mosley quickly became a familiar and sought-after face in the local law enforcement world. “Everybody, every county, between Dorchester, Talbot, Caroline, sometimes we went to Queen Anne’s…they all wanted Mosley…from State Police to the Sheriff’s Office.” Her skills helped to bust drug dealers across the area, leading to many arrests for possession with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and other narcotics. “She was on it,” Adams said of Mosley’s sniffing skills.
For Adams, Mosley was more than a helpful tool in catching bad guys. He explained that for officers who usually ride solo, having a K-9 like Mosley is like having a partner who always has your back. He said there have been times when he was focused on something, and Mosley alerted him to another potentially dangerous situation. “To have your best friend and your companion drive around with you, and fight crime or get the fentanyl and the heroin off the streets, is a godsend,” he said.
Mosley and Adams stayed with Federalsburg PD until early 2025. When Adams decided to move on, he said “the dog came first.” He retired Mosley the first time before resigning from Federalsburg PD and signing on with Greensboro. With the drive to work still left in her, Adams and Greensboro Police Chief Lennox Trams advocated for Greensboro to bring Mosley on board as well, and she was officially hired in April 2025.
However, the CCL tear was not the only health setback Mosley faced during her career. A few years before transferring to Greensboro PD, Adams’ brother, a fellow handler, had lost his K-9 Max due to an injury stemming from undiagnosed bone cancer, and had urged Adams to get x-rays of all Mosley’s limbs just to be safe. That’s when they caught the cancer in Mosley’s wrist. That was January, 2023.
At first they tried radiation, but the treatment caused Mosley’s bone to splinter further, and amputation became the only option. So Mosley’s right front leg was fully amputated on Halloween of that year. Days after Adams took her home, as he was getting ready for work, she immediately assumed her position next to his truck, waiting for him to open the door for her. “I just broke down crying,” he said, “this dog is a warrior.” After four rounds of chemo and no more than six months of recovery, Mosley was back at it. “She didn't skip a beat, walking around, hopping around three legs,” Adams joked, saying he sometimes calls her ‘I-Hop.’
Now, Adams believes it’s time to retire Mosley for good. Chief Trams made the formal request at the Greensboro Town Council’s most recent meeting, and the request was granted, making Mosley an officially retired dog. “It was getting kind of cumbersome for her,” Adams said that while she still wants to work, it became a question of when to pull the trigger, as the demands of the job were starting to put a lot of strain on her body. Adams said he had gotten to a point where he had to lift her in and out of the police SUV, “her brain thinks that she can still do it…but she’s not a robot.”
Luckily for her, Mosley is already well-versed on how to take a good vacation, as she has practiced with Adams and his family, “She loves the beach, she absolutely loves the beach,” he said. He also said there may be some more lounging around and indulging in extra treats in her future, as previously her CCL injury required she maintain a weight of 70lbs, but now with only three limbs to account for and no job to stay in shape for, who’s counting?
Mosley has helped Adams in more ways than one, and has made him feel especially helpful when it comes to fulfilling his mission as a police officer, “to have people call me for Mo, was always like, this dog's on it…This dog's making me look like a rock star. I'm just a dumb guy holding the leash. But it's always been very rewarding.”
“She has been absolutely a wonder to work with and watch her work,” Adams said. The Town of Greensboro officially sold Mosley to Adams $1, so they will still get to hang out, just as friends, not co-workers. Happy retirement, Mosley!
