Police officers statewide wanted to thank their police dogs and constant companions. On Friday, they gathered at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine on Virginia Tech’s campus for the unveiling of a memorial statue.
The statue is a life-size sculpture of a German Shepherd, and the memorial lists the names of 12 police dogs killed in the line of duty since 1962.
John Hoover is with Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and is a Master Trainer.
"They go into places that we can't go into or we don't want to go into. It's never a good day when you call canine. It's usually something serious,” said Hoover.
One police dog from Giles County is also listed on the memorial as “K-9 Carsen.” He was accidently shot by friendly fire last December while searching a church that had been burglarized.
Sheriff Morgan Millirons is with the Giles County Sheriff’s Department.
"His job was to protect his handler and that's what they all do,” he said.
The relationship between an officer and his dog leads to a bond.
David Huffman is with Radford Police. He has a chocolate lab named “Boom.”
"Losing her, to me, would be like losing a child,” he said.
The dogs gathered around the memorial as the owners of the dogs that were killed placed flowers by the memorial.
"It's real rewarding to see that statue there, real rewarding,” said Hoover.
Through fundraising efforts and a goal of $50,000, the dreams of creating a memorial became reality.
The first dog honored, K-9 Baron, was killed back in 1962 as he was chasing an escaped inmate in Powhatan.
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