Died 8\/28\/15
\nHandler – Lt. Jared McFalls<\/p>\n
Sheriff\u2019s office mourns loss of faithful, furry family member, Kimbo<\/p>\n
The Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office is mourning the loss of K9 Kimbo after he lost his battle with cancer. Kimbo was a Belgian Malinois who was known to find drugs in Polk and surrounding counties. Lt. Jared McFalls, Kimbo\u2019s handler, said he was part of his family. \u201cHe was our bread and butter,\u201d McFalls said. \u201cHe\u2019s paid for himself several times over. He was my rock star.\u201d Kimbo would have been seven years old in January and the sheriff\u2019s office had him for five years, since he was two years old. McFalls said Kimbo\u2019s medical issues started with a swollen toe and after a couple rounds of antibiotics the veterinarian recommended removing the toe, since it wouldn\u2019t affect Kimbo\u2019s work performance. Things looked good at first as Kimbo began walking and the infection seemed to be healing. McFalls went for a three-day training and returned to find Kimbo\u2019s foot was swollen. After another round of antibiotics, Kimbo wasn\u2019t doing well and stopped eating. The vet then found another knot behind Kimbo\u2019s knee and later discovered it all was cancer and nothing could be done. McFall\u2019s tried everything, even taking Kimbo to a cancer specialist for dogs and cats in Greenville, but the cancer had spread up his leg. Kimbo quickly lost 20 lbs. Weighing only 50 lbs. from his normal 75 lbs. and barely able to walk, Kimbo was euthanized. on Aug. 28. McFalls said he is not alone in his grief, especially from his wife and children. \u201cI wasn\u2019t alone,\u201d McFalls said. \u201cHe was part of the family. My wife and kids were just as devastated as I was. He went on family vacations with us. He went to the beach for the first time this year and saw the ocean. The kids called him their hairy brother.\u201d McFalls said Kimbo went to work with him every day, went home with him every day and was always with his family. McFalls said Kimbo is credited with many arrests over his five years, finding numerous amounts of drugs. He said he remembers Kimbo discovering five ounces of cocaine once and three lbs. of liquid methamphetamine. It wasn\u2019t uncommon for other agencies to call Polk requesting Kimbo come and do searches. The sheriff\u2019s office flew its flags at half-staff in honor of Kimbo following his death. Polk County Sheriff Donald Hill, a former K9 handler, said Kimbo was one of their own and his entire staff is grieving. Hill said he lost two K9s himself so he knows the bond between a handler and his dog. Officers from Polk and surrounding counties met at the sheriff\u2019s office at for a procession to the funeral home. A memorial service for Kimbo was held at the McFarland Funeral Home in Tryon. on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m. The public attended. The service included words from friends, a chaplain and a dispatcher\u2019s final call for Kimbo. Ribbons are being worn by officers in Kimbo\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died 8\/28\/15 Handler – Lt. Jared McFalls Sheriff\u2019s office mourns loss of faithful, furry family member, Kimbo The Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office is mourning the loss of K9 Kimbo after he lost his battle with cancer. Kimbo was a Belgian Malinois who was known to find drugs in Polk and surrounding counties. Lt. Jared McFalls, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-fl"],"yoast_head":"\n