Died 6\/8\/18
\nHandler – Officer Steve Croft<\/p>\n
New McCracken County K9 continues legacy of K9 that passed away<\/p>\n
A retired K9 that served with the McCracken County Sheriff\u2019s Department for eight years has passed away. But his legacy lives on through the work of the department\u2019s newest K9. Pepo died from kidney failure on Friday, said his handler, Steve Croft. The Dutch shepherd was 10 years old. Croft recalled when he took Pepo to the veterinarian. \u201cThe day I was going to take him to the vet, and he still just loved to play ball,\u201d said Croft. \u201cStill loved to run. Gave him the tennis ball, and he wanted to play so much. As sick as he was, he still wanted to play. Took him to the vet, and we diagnosed him at that point, and said his illness was irreversible, and there wasn\u2019t anything else for us to do but to put him down. And he was suffering a whole lot. He left my house, carried the ball all the way to the vet, and he never released the ball. And he will be buried with that ball still in his mouth. So, he\u2019s definitely playing in heaven with that ball.\u201d Croft also remembered his last moments with Pepo. \u201cHe was a great dog. I thanked him for everything he\u2019d done, and many times he saved my butt and several other officers\u2019 butt. I told him I\u2019ll see him again someday,\u201d said Croft. Pepo had helped seize hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illegal drugs and dirty money over his eight-year career, Croft said. He even caught a burglary suspect who was hiding in a creek. \u201c(Pepo) stuck his head in the water, and next thing you know the suspect is coming up out of the water where Pepo had snatched onto him, and we ended up apprehending him,\u201d said Croft. Pepo retired from the sheriff\u2019s department in September 2017 and had been living in Croft\u2019s home until his death. The two had become inseparable. \u201cHe knew exactly what everything I was thinking. I knew what he was thinking,\u201d Croft said. \u201cI knew when he was going to be ill for the day. I knew when he was going to have a bad day. We could read each other quite well. I mean, there\u2019s just not a whole lot I could say about Pepo that wasn\u2019t just perfect.\u201d After Pepo retired, Croft got a new K9 named Caun, but he said the dog developed a health issue with his throat just a few months later. Because Caun could no longer work, Croft got another K9 named Oscar, who has been with the sheriff\u2019s department since April. Croft said Oscar has already become quite familiar with the daily routine. \u201cAs soon as the vehicle starts in the afternoon, you can hear him start to whine. He knows it\u2019s time to go to work, so he\u2019s getting excited. This is the best job you\u2019ll ever do in law enforcement. There is no other job like it. Having a K9 partner behind you always, watches your back the whole time,\u201d Croft said. \u201cOne hundred percent, this dog will lay his life down to protect us and make sure we go home at the end of the night.\u201d Croft said Oscar has located illegal drugs in several cases already, including finding 93 grams of crystal methamphetamine, marijuana and paraphernalia in a vehicle a week ago. The meth\u2019s estimated street value was $9,300.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died 6\/8\/18 Handler – Officer Steve Croft New McCracken County K9 continues legacy of K9 that passed away A retired K9 that served with the McCracken County Sheriff\u2019s Department for eight years has passed away. But his legacy lives on through the work of the department\u2019s newest K9. Pepo died from kidney failure on Friday, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-5391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-ky"],"yoast_head":"\n