Died 5\/27\/16
\nHandler – Officer Neil Cridge<\/p>\n
Findlay loses long-serving K-9 Officer Axel<\/p>\n
Officer Neil Cridge and members of the Findlay Police Department are mourning the loss of one of their own. The department\u2019s K-9 officer Axel died May 27 after a brief bout with health-related issues. The German Shepherd-Belgian Malinois mix \u2014 one of the first police dogs in the area \u2014 missed 10 years of service with the department by less than one week. He was 11 1\/2 years old. Countless condolences from surrounding communities and across the county have been flooding the department and the cell phone of Axel\u2019s handler, Officer Cridge, over the past few weeks. \u201cHoly smokes,\u201d said Officer Cridge, adding that initial response via phone call and text message had him charging his cell phone two or three times per day. \u201cYou really get to see how we interacted with people over the years,\u201d he said. Besides sniffing for illegal drugs, assisting other officers and protecting his handler; a large part of Axel\u2019s role in the township and beyond was tracking runaway juveniles, people with dementia, fleeing felons and \u201cpeople that don\u2019t want to be found,\u201d Officer Cridge said. He worked regionally with other departments, made many visits to the West Allegheny School District and was often found at the 171st Air Refueling Wing, one of several sites in Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties where departments train with their K-9 units. In recent years, Robinson added K-9 Officer Sarek to its force and North Fayette now has Nevo. The trio regularly trained together. \u201cWe do all this training. \u2026 No one ever told us about this day,\u201d said Officer Cridge. \u201cI see him even more than my own family,\u201d he said, adding that his 6-year-old daughter also is dealing with the loss. While Axel\u2019s death did not come in the line of duty, his loss is no less real to those who had day-to-day interaction with the personable canine. Officer Cridge willingly shares pictures of his longtime partner. Scrolling through both candid and work-related photos of Axel shows a dog with personality. In one picture the dog was caught preparing to slide down a playground sliding board; in another his snout is covered with snow after rooting around in a fresh snowfall. Additionally, Axel had a messy side. When drinking from a water bowl, \u201che made a very large mess,\u201d said Officer Cridge. \u201cSo we trained him to use the fountain. It was always funny to watch people\u2019s reactions,\u201d sharing a video showing the dog nonchalantly swing by the water fountain for a few slurps before heading on his way. The municipality is planning to erect a memorial marker for Axel. Officials there held a moment of silence for the canine referred to as a \u201cvery devoted employee, co-worker and member of our team\u201d by Janet L. Craig, supervisor chairwoman, on June 8. \u201cLiving with him and working with him you were pretty much there with him 24\/7. They leave a hole in your heart when they go,\u201d she said during the meeting. The township has not decided if a new dog will be brought onto the force. Ms. Craig said they will be \u201cletting the wounds heal\u201d before exploring options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died 5\/27\/16 Handler – Officer Neil Cridge Findlay loses long-serving K-9 Officer Axel Officer Neil Cridge and members of the Findlay Police Department are mourning the loss of one of their own. The department\u2019s K-9 officer Axel died May 27 after a brief bout with health-related issues. The German Shepherd-Belgian Malinois mix \u2014 one of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14],"class_list":["post-1659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-pa"],"yoast_head":"\n