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Died – 1/29/18
Handler – Sgt. Katie Edgar
Worcester mourns death of retired K-9
Sheriff Mason and staff are saddened to report the passing of retired K-9 Jonka(Yon-Ka) who passed away today. K-9 Jonka was born on Christmas Day in 2005 and was assigned to Sgt. Katie Edgar as her patrol K-9. K-9 Jonka performed her duties with devotion to this agency and to her handler for many years and was retired in 2016 .During her 8 years of service, K-9 Jonka performed hundreds of tracks, scans, building searches, and more importantly, protected her handler and made sure each night they returned home as a team. The bond between a K-9 team is one that few get to experience. K-9 Jonka would go on to excel at her job. She would compete and win at trials and events. Not many Shepherds can keep pace with a Malinois in a race, but not only could she keep pace, she was faster than many, and held her own placing in the top three in one of the “fastest dog” categories at the Lehigh Valley K9 Trials. Her narcotics detection was unmatched, and her absolute favorite discipline.K-9 Jonka’s personality was infectious. Everyone loved her. Her nickname was “The Bean” because she was like a little jumping bean with her goofy behavior, from jumping into golf carts at Frontier Town to go for rides, to scaring the Good Humor man when she jumped up on the window….only because she wanted an ice cream of course. She earned an incredible reputation of reliability at her tasks. There are countless stories of her performance but one of the most notable was during an incident involving a burglary where the suspect, while trying to flee, attempted to run over Sgt. Edgar and K-9 Jonka. Shots were fired and during the entire incident K-9 Jonka stood by Sgt. Edgar’s side, never feigning or fleeing. It was a testament to her loyalty and love.At the end of the day K-9 Jonka was a loving pet and family member, whose only drive was to please everyone she came in contact with. Our thoughts are with Sgt. Edgar and family. Jonka you will be missed.
