Died \u2013 1\/18\/23
\nHandler – Corporal Thomas Buchness<\/p>\n
Area law enforcement turns out in force to bid farewell to Christian Co. Sheriff\u2019s Office first K-9<\/p>\n
Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to protect and serve. And whether they walk on two legs or four, they deserve respect and admiration. That\u2019s why Wednesday was an emotional day for the Christian County Sheriff\u2019s Office.\u201cToday we\u2019re saying our final farewell to K-9 Kye,\u201d said Corporal Thomas Buchness.Buchness spent 20 years in the Army and worked with K-9\u2032s in Afghanistan before starting the K-9 unit at the Christian County Sheriff\u2019s Office in 2020. He brought with him a German Shepherd named Kye. \u201cI reserved a spot in the litter for him when I was in Afghanistan,\u201d Buchness explained. \u201cI was a patrol explosive dog handler for the military, and I\u2019ve had him ever since he was eight weeks old. I\u2019d had him for eight years when Sheriff Cole gave me the opportunity to start the K-9 program here. And then he finally got his chance to get called up to the major leagues when he was nine years-old.\u201dIt was Kye\u2019s success as the first K-9 member of the Christian County Sheriff\u2019s Office that led to the addition of two more dogs and his popularity that helped bring in donations from businesses and individuals to run the K-9 unit and provide protective equipment for the dogs.And Buchness says Kye is the best partner he could hope for because of their special bond.\u201cThis is a dangerous job, but it\u2019s great to know that somebody has your back,\u201d Buchness said. \u201cHe\u2019s completely loyal, and I trust him with my life. As a handler, you become one unit. And his legacy will be that he was the foundation for the Christian County Sheriff\u2019s Office K-9 unit.\u201d But Kye was forced into retirement a couple of years ago because of a bacterial illness that affected his mobility.\u201cHe has Ehrlichia, a tick-borne illness, as well as a minor spine impingement,\u201d Buchness said. \u201cHe can\u2019t use his rear legs, but he still gets around. He loved doing his job, but he\u2019s adjusted to retirement pretty well and accepted his role as the guardian of my children and wife at the house.\u201dBut in the past two weeks, the 11 year-old dog\u2019s condition worsened, and medical treatments failed to help. The best way to describe Kye\u2019s movement is that he moves like a seal, using his front paws to get around while his two back legs drag along behind him motionless.So the decision was made to have Kye euthanized. \u201cHe\u2019s had a great life,\u201d Buchness said. \u201cIt\u2019s the right thing to do. It\u2019s not going to be easy, but every pet owner has to face it at one time or another.\u201dOn Wednesday, Buchness brought Kye to the sheriff\u2019s office for one last time, where employees hugged and petted him and played with the tennis-sized rubber ball that Kye takes with him everywhere.\u201cHe was completely ecstatic to get loaded into the patrol car one final time today,\u201d Buchness said. \u201cAnd last night, we stopped at Braum\u2019s and got him a bag of burgers.\u201dAt 3 p.m. Wednesday, Kye was taken to the Seven Hills Veterinary Clinic in Nixa with a full police escort. And people driving by on State Highway 160 must have thought a major crime event was happening at the vet clinic because, in addition to the police escort, over 30 other law enforcement cars with emergency lights on were side-by-side in the parking lot.Their drivers were representatives from various county and city jurisdictions who had worked with the Christian County K9 unit, and they were there to pay their respects, forming a line and saluting on either side of Buchness as he carried the 80-pound dog on his final journey into the clinic.\u201cThey are showing their support because we\u2019re just one giant family,\u201d Buchness said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m very appreciative of it.\u201dDuring his time in the Army, Buchness had about ten dogs he worked with who either retired or passed away, so he\u2019s used to dealing with emotions like those being felt on Wednesday. \u201cBut Kye was the one I\u2019ve had the longest,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I know it\u2019s been rough on my family.\u201dStill, though, there are plenty of precious memories.\u201cHe used to carry these big logs at the house that were about 15 feet long,\u201d Buchness recalled. \u201cHe\u2019d work them on his back kind of like in the \u2018Rocky\u2019 movie. And one of my favorite memories of him is jumping on my daughter\u2019s sled. She was pulling him, and he was supposed to be pulling her.\u201dA sign above the veterinary clinic read: \u201cThank you for your service K9 Kye.\u201dAnd after experiencing all the emotions, tears, love, and sadness on this day, you had to wonder that if all dogs don\u2019t go to heaven, what chance do the rest of us have?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died \u2013 1\/18\/23 Handler – Corporal Thomas Buchness Area law enforcement turns out in force to bid farewell to Christian Co. Sheriff\u2019s Office first K-9 Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to protect and serve. And whether they walk on two legs or four, they deserve respect and admiration. That\u2019s why Wednesday …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[27],"class_list":["post-13474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-k9"],"yoast_head":"\n