Seasonal K9 moments

The Artdog Images of Interest

It's the end of the week, and for many of us it's the start of a holiday break. I thought you might enjoy some seasonal K9 moments on a Friday-before-the-big-events!

The calendar says winter's not here till tomorrow, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been cold already in the Northern Hemisphere. Time to test out the new winter gear!




Home for the holidays

One inevitable problem every year is the struggle to travel. We Americans live in a far-flung nation, so we're always going to grapple with travel woes. But it's far from only an American problem.

Crowding, bad weather, and security bottlenecks create chaos wherever we are (or are trying to go). How to cope? Working K9s will have many "seasonal moments." They'll be busy patrolling, screening packages at airports, and doing all they can to keep us safe.

Maybe this could help facilitate holiday travel?

But "home for the holidays" doesn't only apply to humans. Here's a story that takes place a bit after New Year's, but it's still a winter homecoming, so it counts as a seasonal K9 moment. And I hope if warms your heart.



Learn more about American Humane's Service Dogs for Veterans initiative. If you're looking for a place to make a holiday or end-of-year donation and you believe every retired service dog deserves a good home, consider this program.

Encounters with Santa

Would the holidays have as much sparkle without the chance to give and receive? Certainly not. And there's all sorts of potential for seasonal K9 moments with Santa, in the run-up to Christmas.

Holiday gift-giving

Silly memes aside, I'd also like to highlight some more serious thoughts about seasonal K9 moments. Specifically, some very special, life-saving holiday presents for working police K9s.

"Vested in time for Christmas" - San Antonio K9 Rick (shown here with his human partner, Officer Robert Acosta of the VIA Transit Metro Police Department) received a bulletproof, stab-proof vest in mid-December 2018, from Vested Interest in K9s Inc. These vests are expensive, but through donations the organization provides them to working police dogs at no charge to the department.

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. was at it again this year, with (among other gifts) a bulletproof, stab-proof vest for K9 Roman (with unidentified sidekick) of the Clinton, Iowa Police Department, paid for entirely through donations.

I hope your holiday traditions include charitable giving. If they do, consider a gift (perhaps on Boxing Day, especially if you missed Giving Tuesday) to one of the K9 good causes I featured in this post:

• American Humane's Service Dogs for Veterans initiative
• Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.

IMAGE CREDITS

The YouTube video of the K9 in his new winter booties is from The Weather Network. It featured a Rapid City, SD K9 who'll undoubtedly need those booties, but that doesn't mean he has to like them. The "Here's an Idea" image is courtesy of Imagur's Service Dog Memes. Many thanks to The Dodo on YouTube and American Humane's Service Dogs for Veterans, for the video about Bakk's reunion with his human, and the programs they support. 

Many thanks to the German Shepherd Dog Community (the GSDC) on Facebook via Sheryl Pessell's Pinterest Board, for the "I'll be Waiting" meme (she has other good ones on there, too!). And double thanks to CHEEZburger, via I Can Has CHEEZburger's "17 of the Best Animal Christmas Memes" page, for both the "You Are Not Leaving" (via I Love my German Shepherd Dog and Add Text) and the "Bark at Santa" (via Bella German Shepherds) images.

Finally, thanks to My San Antonio, for the "Vested in Time for Christmas" photo of K9 Rick and Officer Acosta (with accompanying story). Thanks also to KWQC of Clinton IA for the photo and story about K9 Roman (unfortunately, his uniformed sidekick wasn't identified). And thanks very much to Vested Interest in K9s Inc. for their work!

Three bad guys' worst nightmare

Here's a pre-Halloween story about three bad guys with an evil plan. Back in May, 2015, they decided--possibly as part of a gang plot--to ambush and kill a cop.

Cop's-eye view, approaching a similar Lincoln Town Car.

They set up their ambush at a deserted rest area on a lonely stretch of Highway 90, near Pearlington, Mississippi. They parked their 2000 model dark blue Lincoln Town Car, and turned off the lights. One man sat very still inside. The other two hid in the woods nearby. Then they waited.

Around 10:00 p.m., Hancock County Deputy Todd Frazier noticed the car with the motionless man in the driver's seat. Like any good cop, he pulled over and got out, to see if the man was all right.

That's when the other two leaped out of the dark woods. They attacked Frazier with fists and what probably was a box cutter. When the man who'd been in the car piled out, it was three against one. They choked Frazier, told him they were going to slit his throat, and dragged him toward the woods.

Chief Deputy Don Bass later said authorities think they planned to take Frazier into the woods, kill him, and dump his body.

Lucky for Frazier, he had a couple of secret weapons.

Meet Lucas, the hero of this story.

The first was a button on his belt. Frazier managed to get a hand free long enough to press it. That released the door of his patrol vehicle and popped it open. The device had only recently been installed: one of the first two on any Hancock County units. 

The second secret weapon was his K9 partner, 75-lb. black Belgian Malinois Lucas. Six-year-old Lucas recognized right away that this was not a training exercise, Frazier later said. The dog leaped from the vehicle and immediately attacked the three men.

Lucas bit one, possibly two of the attackers, according to Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam. "We don't know how many he got, we just know he had blood all over him."

By that time Frazier had blood all over himself, too. "I couldn't see anything, because the blood was all in my eyes," he said later. "I could hear [Lucas] growling and making all these sounds . . . he sounded like a wolf."

The attackers fled in the Town Car. Sheriff Adam said that as they drove away, Lucas was still hanging onto the leg of one of them. 

A multi-agency manhunt ensued after the attack on Deputy Frazier.

The bad guys didn't get away unscathed--at least one of them probably had serious dog bites. But neither did Frazier or Lucas. Frazier's injuries, while not life-threatening, put him in the hospital for a while. Lucas broke several teeth and tore a neck muscle and an ACL. 

Lucas in 2015, with his medal from BARL.

Despite a multi-agency manhunt that expanded into Louisiana, the attackers have not yet been found. But that doesn't mean the police aren't still looking. DNA swabs and other evidence were taken from the scene, so even if it takes years, they should still have the means to link suspects to this case. If you know anything that would help, please contact the Hancock County Sheriff's Department at (228) 467-5101 or call your local law enforcement.

It took a while for Frazier and Lucas to get back on their feet. Unlike at many agencies, where the department owns the K9s, Lucas is Frazier's own dog. Since their close brush with death in 2015, Frazier has started TLB K9 Enterprises, his own business training K9s, and they also do federal search and rescue work for FEMA.  

Lucas has been recognized for his bravery with a PETA Heroic Dog Award, and by the Brookhaven Animal Rescue League (BARL) as the Hero of the Year for 2015. 

I found an animated re-enactment of Lucas and Frazier's story from TOMO News, that you may enjoy:

IMAGES: Many thanks to WeBeAutos on YouTube, for the screenshot of a 2000 model dark blue Lincoln Town Car, as the videographer approaches the drivers' side front window. This would be similar to Todd Frazier's viewpoint as he walked into the ambush--only it was a lot darker that night. I am indebted to the Australian website news.com for the dramatic photo of Lucas in mid-leap. Many thanks to the Clarion Ledger for the photo of the investigation at the crime scene, and for the photo of Lucas with his BARL award. Finally, many thanks to TOMO News on YouTube, for the animated re-enactment of Lucas's heroic night.