Handler – Sgt. Chad Wickline<\/p>\n
Alleghany Sherriff’s Office remembers K9<\/p>\n
A police dog is more than just a partner. \u201cHe\u2019s with me. We work ten hour shifts, and he\u2019s with me for ten hours,” says Sgt. Chad Wickline, of the Alleghany Sherriff\u2019s Office. “And then when we go home, he\u2019s still with me.\u201d Because the dog and his handler form a bond unlike any other, like the bond Wickline had with Czako. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with him for seven and a half years,\u201d he says. “During that time, he was a good dog. He was a good dog as far as his personality, working around kids, working dog. A fantastic trailing dog.\u201d Trained to detect drugs, apprehend suspects, and trail. \u201cI think it was over thirty successful tracks for Czako over his career,\u201d says Chief Deputy Matt Bowser. A career that was supposed to end next year, with a comfortable retirement at home. But cancer stepped in, and Czako\u2019s end came too soon. \u201cYeah, it\u2019s different. It\u2019s an adjustment,” Wickline says of the empty kennel at home. “Even when he was sick, you know there was still \u2013 he wouldn\u2019t come to work with me, but there was still things that you had to do. And it\u2019s just, it\u2019s just an adjustment period and it\u2019s just not the same right now without him being there.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019ve never done anything in the past to honor our canines,” explains Bowser. “And our canines, they go out and they dedicate their lives just like the officers dedicate their lives. They put their lives in harm\u2019s way day in and day out to protect the citizens just like a deputy would.\u201d So, inspired by Czako\u2019s example, they\u2019re hoping to build a memorial here for all the police canines of the Alleghany Highlands, with space for those to come. Like Czako\u2019s puppy, promised to the department by the trainer who raised him, they think by next summer. \u201cI\u2019m hoping,” Wickline says of the puppies he met in October. “I\u2019m hoping to get his bloodline back on the streets.\u201d The Sheriff’s Office is raising money to fund the memorial. You can make a contribution at their office, or on GoFundMe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Handler – Sgt. Chad Wickline Alleghany Sherriff’s Office remembers K9 A police dog is more than just a partner. \u201cHe\u2019s with me. We work ten hour shifts, and he\u2019s with me for ten hours,” says Sgt. Chad Wickline, of the Alleghany Sherriff\u2019s Office. “And then when we go home, he\u2019s still with me.\u201d Because the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-4321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-va"],"yoast_head":"\n