Submitted photo Senior Randolph County Deputy Tyler Knotts, shown with his K-9 Twix, has accepted a job with the Elkins Police Department.

ELKINS — The Randolph County Sheriff Office’s loss will be the Elkins Police Department’s gain, as two law enforcement officers — one of them with four legs — are switching from one department to the other.

Randolph County Sheriff Rob Elbon announced at the most recent Randolph County Commission meeting that Senior Deputy Tyler Knotts and K-9 Twix will be leaving the RCSO to work with the EPD.

Elbon told the Inter-Mountain he hated to lose Knotts and one of the two K-9s the Sheriff’s Office has, but said he understood and supported Knotts’ decision to move to the EPD.

“The city is offering a $20,000 sign-on bonus for police officers right now, and that was attractive to him for a situation he has,” Elbon said. “I don’t know that he really wanted to go, but it’s kind of a necessity for him and his family the way things are, and we get it.”

Elbon said the Randolph County Commission is working on a deal to send Twix to the Elkins Police Department.

“The city wants the dog as well, so we are in negotiations about how we are going to do it,” Randolph County Commission President Dave Kesling told The Inter-Mountain. “Since it wasn’t on the agenda we couldn’t make a decision about the dog during the meeting. So we plan on announcing something at our next meeting.”

Elbon said he is sad to see Twix, who was purchased by the Randolph County Commission in 2022, leaving the department, but noted it would be impossible for the dog to work with another officer after Knotts left.

“I hate to lose the dog, but he’s a one-owner, one-trainer dog,” Elbon said. “He’s not compatible with other trainers, and we were told this when we got him. It would be a liability to put him with someone else at this point.

“I have a guy who is actually interested in working with the dog, but I’m not interested in getting the guy chewed up. Once you take that dog away from someone like Knotts, who is master to him, the dog takes dominance over the person who is coming in and trying to replace his trainer.”

Nikki, a female Dutch Shepherd, will remain with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office after the departure of Twix. Nikki is more of a drug sniffing and tracking K-9, while Twix is what Elbon calls a “biter.”

“We want to try and transition the dog (Twix) with Knotts. It is going to be like a package deal when it’s all said and done,” Elbon said. “And we will be looking to replace Twix with another dog and handler who will train with the animal.”

Elbon said he hated to see Knotts leave the Sheriff’s Office, and that Elkins City Police was getting a good officer.

“They are getting a good police officer in Knotts. He’s trained and he knows what he is doing,” Elbon said. “He’s very level-headed and he makes good decisions. It’s a loss to us for sure, but I understand his personal circumstances and I wish him the best.”