Died 3\/7\/22
\nHandler – Logan Niles and Sam Strecker<\/p>\n
Sheriff’s Office remembers retired K-9’s service to community<\/p>\n
The life of a retired K-9 with Garfield County Sheriff\u2019s Office was honored through a memorial service Wednesday afternoon. Spike, who was a 14-year-old Belgian malinois, served in Garfield County from 2011 to 2018 with then-K-9 deputies Logan Niles and Sam Strecker and died on March 7. \u201cI\u2019m thankful I had the opportunity to work with Spike, and I\u2019m going to cherish all of those memories,\u201d said Niles, now chief of Waukomis Police Department. Pastor Dave Jones, chaplain at the sheriff\u2019s office, led the ceremony for the \u201cfour-legged officer\u201d with family, friends and other members of law enforcement \u2014 including other GCSO K-9s Niko, TP and Diesel and Boba Fett from Enid Police Department \u2014 present. \u201cToday, we honored Spike\u2019s dedication and commitment to the job that he was trained to do,\u201d Jones said on Wednesday.Spike started his law enforcement career at GCSO as a dual-purpose canine in the summer of 2011 with Niles. Niles said he fell in love with Spike\u2019s athletic ability and put a lot of faith in his partner. \u201cI know for a fact that Spike saved my life numerous times, and other people\u2019s lives,\u201d Niles said. Niles was later promoted to the rank of sergeant, so Strecker, now assistant chief of WPD, became Spike\u2019s handler. Strecker said learning to trust Spike, who was his first K-9 partner took some time, but eventually, he was able to anticipate Spike\u2019s next moves based on the dog\u2019s body language. During the ceremony, Strecker recalled some of the work he and Spike did together, including locating drugs and tracking and apprehending crime suspects. \u201cYou just learn to put all your faith in your dog,\u201d Strecker said. \u201cHe\u2019s protected me \u2014 probably numerous times where I didn\u2019t even know I was being protected.\u201d Strecker said Spike was a \u201cone-of-a-kind\u201d dog who had his quirks about him, but Strecker got used to having the K-9 partner in the backseat of his car. Spike also participated in demonstrations at local schools. Spike retired from the force in 2018, going on to live with Strecker as a pet. The transition had a learning curve, but Spike lived out his days with the family. \u201cIt was a bittersweet moment,\u201d Strecker said of Spike\u2019s retirement. \u201cI\u2019m happy that I still have a bunch of pictures of us.\u201d Niles said although K-9s are valuable tools for law enforcement agencies, they are \u201cpart of the family.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m just thankful that after Spike retired, (Strecker and his wife) were able to take care of him, raise him like a pet and let them live out the good years,\u201d Niles said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died 3\/7\/22 Handler – Logan Niles and Sam Strecker Sheriff’s Office remembers retired K-9’s service to community The life of a retired K-9 with Garfield County Sheriff\u2019s Office was honored through a memorial service Wednesday afternoon. Spike, who was a 14-year-old Belgian malinois, served in Garfield County from 2011 to 2018 with then-K-9 deputies Logan …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12],"class_list":["post-12213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-ok"],"yoast_head":"\n