Column: Celebrate, honor the unsung canine cop

Not every hero walks on two legs. Some have four.

There are five of these serving the Carson City Sheriff's Office, and I was humbled to be able to meet them Saturday at a retirement celebration for one of their own.

K-9 Ivo, Beke, Blue, Tarzan and Tiko were all in attendance with their handlers Saturday at the Nevada Humane Society in Carson City to salute the senior of the ranks, K-9 Officer Rex, who wrapped up his law enforcement career with recognition, respect and community love befitting a hero.

Yes, Rex is a dog. A seven-and-a-half year-old Belgian Malinois, to be more precise. His six-year career may not seem very long to humans, but that can be a lifetime of service, sometimes sacrifice, for law enforcement canines.

Rex, a narcotics specialist, completed almost 1,100 searches resulting in hundreds of illegal drug arrests throughout his career. Because of him and his human partner, Carson City Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Pullen, the streets of our community were made safer.

"The K-9 program to the sheriff's office is invaluable," Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said. "When we look at the K-9 program, we look at it as a core value of our department."

Carson City K-9 officers serve multiple roles for the sheriff's office and in the community, Furlong said. They are ambassadors, partners, protectors, searchers, and drug detectors.

The five K-9s actively in service for the Carson City Sheriff's Office are all pet-friendly, too. Furlong said that means people, and especially children, can come up to the dogs, pet them and show affection.

"That's by design and how we pick our dogs," said Furlong, who has made community policing a priority for the sheriff's office. "They aren't pets and they are trained to do certain things, so we still have to be careful. But we want all of our K-9s to be pet-friendly."

Carson City's K-9 officers are beloved in the community, and evidence of this was no more apparent than the several families who turned out Saturday for K-9 Rex's retirement celebration.

"There is an element there of connection into the community," Furlong said. "Kids can relate directly to the officer. We want all of our dogs to have relationships with the kids in the community."

Carson City K-9 officers work out of the patrol vehicle assigned to them. Each automobile has the dog's name on the outside, and is specially equipped to provide for its maximum comfort and safety. Furlong said each vehicle also comes equipped with automatic escape routes for the dog in the event something happens to the vehicle.

Carson City Sheriff's deputies love their canine partners, and it shows.

There is a code among cops, a brother and sisterhood based on trust of one another to have each other's backs on every call. Few relationships I've borne witness to in my lifetime compare to the partnership between a K-9 officer and its handler.

And while every cop is sworn to serve and protect, ready to put his or her life on the line for others, the K-9 officers really are in a class by themselves.

Dogs naturally exhibit an uncanny level of fidelity that earned them a reputation ages ago as man's best friend.

Peace officers of the Carson City Sheriff's Office are blessed to have five canine cops watching their backs, ready to put their lives in harm's way without a second thought to themselves.

K-9 officers are the quintessential embodiment of sacrifice; the definition of devotion and loyalty.

I am honored to be a member of a community whose sheriff's office is reciprocating that faithfulness in a show of respect for the contributions of its canine cops.

K-9 officers in the Nevada state capital are well taken care of thanks to the men and women of the Carson City Sheriff's Office, the municipal government, corporate and non-profit partnerships, as well as generous supporters in the community.

A special fund is set up through the sheriff's office and anyone can make a donation to help support the training and equipment needs of K-9 officers.

Municipal employees Melanie Bruketta and Cecilia Meyer have also worked tirelessly to ensure that CCSO K-9 officers receive medical care for the duration of their lives; a small price to pay for the larger-than-life sacrifices they are prepared to make at the start of each and every shift.

Dogs have always occupied a soft spot in my heart. The K-9 officers are no exception. They do their work without protest, systematically sniffing out drugs, picking up trails, running down suspects and protecting their fellow human officers.

They are often called upon to act in dangerous situations that would otherwise jeopardize the lives of their human companions, and they do this gladly without hesitation if only for no other reason than to please their handlers.

K-9s give no thought to themselves and whether or not they make it out alive. That doesn't matter to them. They have a duty, and when commanded, they act on it.

"A dog is expendable more than a human," said CCSO Deputy Jeff Pullen, who has adopted his now-retired partner, Rex, and is working now with Blue. "We would rather send a dog in when we can than a deputy for safety issues."

I know it may seem cold to the animal-loving civilian that human officers would prefer to send a K-9 into a hazardous situation. But I'm quite certain the families deeply appreciate what canine cops are prepared to do on behalf of their loved ones.

Handlers and other officers serving with the dogs neither take life-and-death decisions lightly, nor make them easily. They get attached to their K-9 partners as any of us do to our own dogs.

As much as I love dogs, I cannot bear the thought of a small child standing next to the casket of a parent who died in the line of duty, because a K-9 was unavailable to help protect them.

I would just as soon children have their mommies or daddies alive to love and care for them.

K-9 officers will sacrifice themselves so that the children of human officers won't have to endure the tragic loss of a parent.

This is why I was humbled to be a part of Rex's retirement celebration Saturday, because I know what is expected of these canine cops on a moment's notice. I know what is at stake. All of the handlers I met Saturday have their own human families.

The K-9 officer is a member of that family and its role — like any other dog — is instinctively protective to ensure the survival of its human family members.

Canine cops are truly the unsung heroes of a law enforcement agency. Their careers and their lives are brief compared to ours. But their roles are no less important.

Yesterday, a Facebook poster had this to say in response to a story I wrote covering Rex's retirement celebration: "So lame! This is a little ridiculous!"

No, sir, not to me or to many others who recognize what these dogs mean to the communities in which they serve. They play a vital part in keeping people safe and protecting fellow peace officers.

You might just change your tune when someday your life hangs in the balance and the only thing that keeps you from losing it is a K-9 officer, who would gladly trade his for yours.

To all of our peace officers — human, K-9 or equine — I love you all. You don't just have a community's respect. You have its affection, too.