With that said, you may have heard about the injury to K9 Rocco of Pittsburgh PD. He was buried with full honors last week.
Video: Hundreds attend funeral for slain Pa. K-9
PITTSBURGH — Hundreds of active-duty and retired police officers and their families gathered Friday morning at a funeral service to honor Pittsburgh police dog Rocco, killed on duty, at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in Oakland.
As bagpipers played, a procession of uniformed police officers wearing white gloves carried a large plaque displaying Rocco's photo followed by a box containing his cremated remains into the hall about 10:50 a.m. The service began at 11 a.m. with limited public seating available.
Police officers, their K-9 partners, politicians and residents who simply love dogs, wanted to say goodbye to Rocco. K-9 units lined the walkway to the building. The dog bred in the Czech Republic and his partner, Officer Phil Lerza, were injured while capturing a fugitive. John L. Rush of Stowe is accused of stabbing the dog on Jan. 28 in Lawrenceville.
Acting Police Chief Regina McDonald said Rocco was Lerza's best friend. "They trained together, worked together, lived together," she said during the service. "This is an officer to them," said Don Marchione, 37, of Lawrenceville, who said his uncle is a retired K-9 handler. "He's a family member and he went into he trenches for his partner. He deserves this."
The procession and funeral service, honors typically reserved for human police officers, reflect the outpouring of emotion for a dog most people never met, officials said. When Rocco died the night of Jan. 30, dozens of people stood in vigil outside the animal hospital.
On social media, in homes and neighborhood bars, when word spread of his death, strangers mourned. "Pittsburgh showed its soul that night, a soul that shines with compassion and recognizes the good not only in every human, but in every being," Mayor Bill Peduto said.
The reaction is not surprising, said police Chief Rudy Harkins in Marion Township, Beaver County, formerly the head K-9 trainer for Pittsburgh's police bureau. Many people love dogs because they demonstrate levels of loyalty and courage most humans fail to reach, he said. Trained service dogs, including Rocco and other police canines, exhibit more bravery than the average dog, elevating them in the eyes of the public to "more than a dog," Harkins said. "
They're special — not just pet dogs," he said. "They perform tasks above and beyond, sometimes, what the officer can perform. ... There is a bond that is hard to explain. It can be even tighter than you are with a lot of your family members, because you know he will be there when you need him." Harkins trained Odin, the Lower Burrell K-9 dog whose partner, Officer Derek Kotecki, was fatally shot in 2011. Displaying the loyalty for which such dogs are known, Odin refused to leave Kotecki's body at the site of the shooting, officials said....That is no joke. Last month a Harris County K9 unit was involved in a severe accident and his dog would not let the medics near him:
Harris County deputy critical following crash on Beltway 8 HOUSTON—A major crash involving a Harris County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit sent multiple people, including a deputy, to the hospital Tuesday morning...
...Deputies said another K9 unit had to be called in to subdue Denham’s dog in the wrecked patrol car.
“When the dog saw his partner in the condition he was in, he became highly protective of his partner,” said Capt. Darryl Coleman. “And that’s to anyone, other K9 officers as well. They are trained at removing the dog and handling the dog. It was just that the dog was being extremely protective of his handler and the K9 officers were the proper people to come and deal with the dog.”
The dog, named Sjors, was sent to a nearby vet to get checked out...RIP Rocco...
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