Died 7\/11\/16
\nHandler – . Officer Chris Periatt<\/p>\n
K-9 remembered as great officer, wonderful dog<\/p>\n
With soulful tunes from bagpipes and all the pomp and circumstance befitting his rank, the St. Clair Shores Police Department said goodbye to K-9 Hondo at Blossom Heath Park. Hondo, a German shepherd, began his service in St. Clair Shores on April 7, 2008, and worked up until the day that he died, July 11. Members of the St. Clair Shores Police and Fire departments, K-9 officers from across metro Detroit, friends and members of the community all came out Aug. 4 for a memorial that paid tribute to Hondo and helped those who loved him to remember a \u201cgreat\u201d dog. Officer Chris Periatt, Hondo\u2019s handler, said that Hondo made him a better police officer. \u201cI have never worked with a partner who wanted to come to work and put bad guys in jail as much as Hondo did,\u201d he said during the service. \u201cAll he wanted to do was work.\u201d The Thursday before he died, Hondo \u201crocked his certification\u201d in training and just a day before he died, he helped with tracking during an armed robbery investigation. But when Periatt came home July 11, he said he knew something was wrong when he opened the crate. Hondo had terminal cancer that was not diagnosed until the day he died.\u201cThis is by far the greatest job you can have, working with a dog,\u201d Periatt said. Deputy Chief Steven Lambert said that Hondo was great at public events and with children, as well as on the beat. \u201cHe\u2019s an ambassador for the Police Department and everybody loved him,\u201d he said. St. Clair Shores has another K-9 team, officer Gerald Chomos and Wylie, who have been in service for three years. Lambert said it has always worked out well having two K-9s on the force, but no decision has been made yet when or whether another dog will join St. Clair Shores. The officers serve as K-9 officers for the life of the dog. \u201cTo most outsiders, it\u2019s just a dog. (But) when a dog gets put into service … we treat the dog as another officer,\u201d Lambert said. \u201cWhen you lose an officer, it\u2019s difficult whether it\u2019s a K-9 or a human.\u201d Periatt\u2019s wife, Toni, said she still remembers when former Police Chief Michael Walleman called her to his office. She said he told her that he wanted to offer Periatt the position of K-9 officer. \u201cHe said to me, \u2018This will change your life,\u2019\u201d Toni Periatt said. And it did, she added. Even with several \u201cfur babies\u201d of their own at home \u2014 plus a 14-year-old son, Collin \u2014 Toni said Hondo found a special place in their hearts. The St. Clair Shores Police Department has had a K-9 bureau for more than 25 years, Lambert said. \u201cWe wanted to pay a proper tribute to K-9 Hondo. He was a great dog,\u201d he said. Police Chaplain James Friedman said that the bond between an officer and a K-9 is like that of two partners, but even stronger because the dog becomes a member of the family. \u201cThey are police officers, sworn and certified,\u201d he said. \u201cHondo liked to work.\u201d Dr. Andrew Dine has taken care of St. Clair Shores police K-9 dogs for many years. He told the gathered crowd that what set Hondo apart was his personality. \u201cHe was a people dog,\u201d Dine said. \u201cWorking dogs, they\u2019re not necessarily trained for that sort of thing, but that\u2019s how this dog was. \u201cThe people of St. Clair Shores really love their police dogs, and I don\u2019t know how you put a value on that kind of (public relations).\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died 7\/11\/16 Handler – . Officer Chris Periatt K-9 remembered as great officer, wonderful dog With soulful tunes from bagpipes and all the pomp and circumstance befitting his rank, the St. Clair Shores Police Department said goodbye to K-9 Hondo at Blossom Heath Park. Hondo, a German shepherd, began his service in St. Clair Shores …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1953,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-1951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-mi"],"yoast_head":"\n