Died – 2\/15\/19
\nHandler – Detective Matt Lowery<\/p>\n
Clay County Sheriff’s Office remembers K9 Cygan<\/p>\n
The Clay County Sheriff\u2019s Office is mourning the loss of one of their own. K9 Cygan, a retired member of the department died of natural causes on Friday. He served the Sheriff\u2019s office from 2009 to 2016 \u2014 working over a thousand cases. \u201cThese dogs are part of our family. Plain and simple,\u201d Clay County Sheriff\u2019s deputy Chris Padgett said, reflecting on the importance of K9s on the force. Padgett remembers working cases over the years with Cygan and his handler Detective Matt Lowery. \u201cThey were best friends in the vehicle together,” Padgett recalled. “Back in the day, Detective Lowery had a Crown Vic, when we drove those, and just to see the two of them you\u2019d forget Cygan was a K9 \u2013 he takes on the personality and he\u2019s just another work partner.\u201d First Coast News planned to interview Lowery, but the veteran detective was called out to a case just before our reporter arrived and could not meet. Lowery sent along pictures of his former companion. Padgett colored in the details about the German Shepard\u2019s career, which tallied more than 1,000 call-outs. His service included tracking the scent for missing persons, hunting down criminals and sniffing out drugs across Clay County. \u201cThey\u2019re hard chargers so it is rough on their bodies and things like that … the goal of the sheriff\u2019s department is not to wear out the dogs,\u201d Padgett said. Cygan was also a family dog. After serving seven years on the force \u2013 he retired in 2016, living with the Lowery family afterward. Cygan passing leaves his caretaker all alone for the first time in a decade. \u201cIt\u2019s just tough because there\u2019s a loyalty and a bond with Cygan,\u201d Padgett said.Lowery said he is considering another tour with a new K9 \u2013 never forgetting the loyalty of his four-legged partner who he shared so much with over the years. No ceremony or public arrangements have been announced, but the Sheriff\u2019s Office said it will support the Lowery family as they put a community\u2019s best friend to rest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died – 2\/15\/19 Handler – Detective Matt Lowery Clay County Sheriff’s Office remembers K9 Cygan The Clay County Sheriff\u2019s Office is mourning the loss of one of their own. K9 Cygan, a retired member of the department died of natural causes on Friday. He served the Sheriff\u2019s office from 2009 to 2016 \u2014 working over …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-6591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-fl"],"yoast_head":"\n