After 44 years in law enforcement, Jon Zerby looks forward to a bit of down time at home.

“Future plans?,” Zerby replies when asked what’s next. “None really. I’ll probably spend some time working on the house. There’s a lot to do there.”

Colleagues, friends and a parade of public officials bid Zerby farewell June 29 at a retirement celebration at the Mullis Street fire station.

From Santa Barbara to Atlanta, to Salem, Ore., Zerby traveled far and wide in more than four decades as a law enforcement official. He was stationed at Fort Lewis 24 years ago, assigned to the military police, when former sheriff Bill Cumming persuaded him to join the local force.

Promoted to undersheriff in 1998, he has been the department’s second-in-command for 14 years, its primary animal control officer the past 13, and played a lead role in helping to craft the “dangerous dogs” laws in effect in both the county and in Friday Harbor.

— Scott Rasmussen