With just days to go before retirement, many people might have taken it easy and let the clock run down.

But not Officer Boss.

Last week, just two days before his official retirement from the police force, Renton K-9 officer Boss and his handler Officer Jason Trader were on patrol and attempted to stop a recklessly driven vehicle. But instead of stopping, the driver took off on Southwest Sunset Avenue, eventually coming to a stop after hitting two unoccupied vehicles near the intersection of Southwest Fourth Place.

After the accident, both the driver and passenger abandoned the stolen car and took off on foot.

Boss nabbed the driver immediately and then tracked the passenger, bringing in both suspects to “go out in style,” as Chief Kevin Milosevich put it.

Just another night on the job for Boss and Trader.

Nicknamed “Hollywood” for his tendency to pose for a camera, Boss has been working with Trader for eight years. In that time, he has had 155 successful tracks, including several homicide suspects.

Boss has helped track suspects all over the region, including a successful 2008 track of a murder suspect in Puyallup and a 2009 track of a homicide suspect following a shooting at the Federal Way Transit Center.

At Monday’s City Council meeting, a special ceremony was held honoring Boss and Trader for his time on the beat and welcoming his replacement and former family member, Titan, to his new role on the force.

According to Milosevich, Boss is an “extremely balanced dog” who is very social, as well as being an excellent tracker.

Police dogs live with the handlers, as part of the family. With his retirement official June 1, Boss will now be able to make the transition to “full-time family dog,” as the chief put it.

But though he will no longer be active with the force, Boss’s influence will continue through his replacement, Titan.

According to Milosevich, Trader’s commitment to the K9 program led him to seek out and begin training on Boss’s replacement. Knowing Boss’s time with the force was waning, Trader purchased Titan himself and began training  the pup to be a police dog.

When the time came, Titan was surveyed by an independent reviewer and passed easily, prompting the city to purchase Titan at Trader’s original cost, well below the $7,000 to $10,000 normal cost for a police dog.

“I think this was a proud moment for Officer Trader, but at the same time a sad moment for the Trader family as Jason just sold the family pet,” Milosevich joked.

Titan and his new handler, Christopher Greenwade, have completed 400 hours of training and are ready to go into action.

“Great performance all these years,” said Mayor Denis Law, apologizing for not having a retirement gift, though Boss didn’t seem to mind. “What a great ending to catch those two auto thieves.”