A bomb-sniffing military dog based in Tampa, Florida retired with honors on Friday, FoxNews.com reported.
During his career in the armed services, Eddie was assigned to MacDill's 6th Security Forces Squadron and served for five years.
According to officers, the 5-year-old Belgian Malinois helped track down Taliban militants and discovered two improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan, essentially saving the lives of his patrol unit.
Staff Sgt. Shannon Hutto told Fox Tampa that watching Eddie leave the unit was emotional, even for his children.
"Every time we go up to the kennels they have to see him, they just want to look at him for a little bit," he explained. "They know what he's done, even though they don't understand it fully, they know that Daddy came home because of this dog and this dog is special to them as much as me."
In addition to detecting bombs, Eddie also provided sweeps of government facilities -- including 15 Secret Service missions part of security provisions for the president and vice president, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Six months before his retirement, Eddie got sick and began suffering from what seemed to be a heat stroke. His handlers rushed him to Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners in Tampa, where veterinarians saved his life. After recovering, he returned to work.
Eddie retired with full military honors and received a discharge ceremony, congratulations, and salutes from soldiers in arms in MacDill's 6th Security Forces Squadron. He was also greeted with a banana and peanut butter cake, which he reportedly sniffed cautiously before ingesting mouthfuls.
Now that he's done serving his country, Eddie will be in the care of his first handler, Staff Sgt. Andrew Grymes.
