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Died – 12/28/17
Handler – Lt. Sam Finnegan
Peru police mourn passing of retired K9
Diesel served with Lt. Sam Finnegan for 8 years fighting crime
The Peru Police Department is mourning the loss of its longest-serving K9 officer, who passed away at around 4 p.m. Thursday. Diesel served with Lt. Sam Finnegan from 2006 to 2014, where he was sent out on over 1,200 deployments and assisted in hundreds of arrests and apprehensions. Diesel also won several awards in the K9 Olympics, including a first in tracking. Since his retirement in 2014, Diesel had lived with Finnegan and his family.Peru Police Chief Mike Meeks said Friday Finnegan had recently noticed Diesel wasn’t feeling well and knew it was only a matter of time before he passed. But that didn’t take the sting out of losing his long-time partner. “Losing a family pet is tough enough,” Meeks said. “But losing your partner who you worked and lived with every day for 11 years, that’s pretty rough.” Meeks said the news of Diesel’s death also hit the rest of the department hard. “Diesel had a great personality,” he said. “He was approachable. He was one that we never, ever had an issue with. He always let kids pet him. He had a loving personality about him. He was almost like our family pet, but you knew he was a hard working dog.”Diesel was the third K9 ever to serve on the force, and was instrumental not only in numerous drug arrests, but also serving as a kind of friendly liaison between the department and the community, Meeks said. “Dogs are so good at public relations and help law enforcement build that bond between police and the community, especially with youth” he said. “Kids love the K9s.” Meeks said Diesel also made all the officers feel safer when responding to dangerous situations. “Most people think K9s just go out and find drugs, but it’s so much more than that,” he said. “They keep us safe and secure as the protector who can sometimes save our lives.” Diesel will be cremated, and his ashes will be kept in an urn that will serve as a reminder of his dedicated service as a police K9, Meeks said. “He was our own little hero in our department,” he said. “Diesel was missed when he retired, and he will be well missed now that he’s gone.”
