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Died – 7/17/23
Handler – Officer Randy Wilson
Beloved Olympia Police K9 Melnic dies at 13, remembered as ‘best’ boy
Olympia Police K9 Melnic died on Monday at age 13, following some health issues during his retirement, according to an obituary posted on the police dog’s social media account. The German Shepherd was born in the Czech Republic in 2010, and worked with Olympia Police Department for five years. There, he was responsible for about 70 captures and assisted in numerous arrests alongside his handler, police officer Randy Wilson. But his community outreach is what solidified his legacy. Melnic visited schools and put on meet-and-greets for the community. Olympia police organized “Where’s Melnic?” in the winters of 2014 and 2015, a scavenger hunt that sent children searching for photos of the police dog in downtown store windows. As a reward, participants got “pawtographed” photos with the K9. In July 2016, Melnic suffered two herniated discs in his back. Though his surgery was successful, Police Lt. Paul Lower said the police department wanted Melnic to retire while he was still healthy. He gave a goodbye “pawress” conference in December of that year. When he was asked what he’d miss most about working with the police department, he delivered his answer through a passionate series of barks. “That’s easy … It’s the people!” Melnic’s subtitles read. In 2017, Wilson, who became Melnic’s owner after the dog’s service in OPD, told The Olympian Melnic was happily adjusting to his new indoor-dog life, but missed work and still tried to go to the station every day. Then, Melnic and his partner Chiba were expecting a litter of puppies. He now leaves behind six sons, three grandsons and one granddaughter, all of whom have taken after him, serving as local law enforcement K9s. “The legacy he started was great,” Wilson said in 2017. “You don’t find that every day in a police dog. He’s not looking for a fight, but if a fight comes to him he can handle it. But he can also lay down on the rug with 40 kids.”
