Died 12\/17\/19
\nHandler – Sergeant James Parise<\/p>\n
PPD K9 Niko Dies After Incurable Spinal Degeneration Diagnosis<\/p>\n
Pittsfield Police Department (PPD) K9 Niko died on Dec. 17 following an incurable spinal degeneration diagnosis. The seven-year-old German Shepherd\u2019s condition was diagnosed over the summer, but he still enjoyed working until his health deteriorated as winter set in. One day this past fall, K9 Niko helped save the life of an elderly woman with dementia after she fell off of a cliff on Dan Fox Drive. \u201cIf he hadn\u2019t located her, I don\u2019t believe she would have survived,\u201d K9 Niko\u2019s human partner, PPD Sergeant James Parise, told The Berkshire Eagle. K9 Niko began falling frequently as his legs progressively failed him, and was eventually unable to get in and out of the patrol car. \u201cHis head was still in it \u2013 he just couldn\u2019t do it physically,\u201d Sgt. Parise told The Berkshire Eagle. \u201cHe worked right up until the end.\u201d On Dec. 17, Sgt. Parise \u201chad to make the toughest decision any K9 handler can be forced to make,\u201d the PPD said in a Facebook post. The duo\u2019s fellow officers escorted them to the Pittsfield Veterinary Hospital for K9 Niko\u2019s final call, The Berkshire Eagle reported. Officers stood at attention out in the snow and saluted Sgt. Parise as left the hospital without his longtime K9 partner. K9 Niko joined the PPD in 2015, after another department planned to euthanize him due to his purported difficult temperament, The Berkshire Eagle reported. “Being an experienced handler, I decided I would give him a shot,” explained Sgt. Parise, who has been a K9 handler for 14 years. “And he was a great dog.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died 12\/17\/19 Handler – Sergeant James Parise PPD K9 Niko Dies After Incurable Spinal Degeneration Diagnosis Pittsfield Police Department (PPD) K9 Niko died on Dec. 17 following an incurable spinal degeneration diagnosis. The seven-year-old German Shepherd\u2019s condition was diagnosed over the summer, but he still enjoyed working until his health deteriorated as winter set in. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7929,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-7927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-ma"],"yoast_head":"\n