Died – 12\/26\/19
\nHandler – Officer Nate Ickes<\/p>\n
Tallmadge police dog Axel loses battle with cancer<\/p>\n
For a cop, a dog is not just his best friend, he\u2019s a trusted partner who has his back. A police K-9 can find a missing person, apprehend a criminal and bridge the gap between police and the community. The city announced Tallmadge Police K-9 Axel\u2019s retirement Dec. 18 after serving the community more than seven years. He was scheduled to retire in 2020 but cancer forced an early end to his career. Sadly, retirement didn\u2019t last long, and Axel died Thursday. Axel\u2019s handler, Patrolman Nate Ickes, shared his thoughts Friday on the police department\u2019s Facebook page. \u201cIt is with a very heavy heart I pass on to you that K9 Axel passed away late last night,\u201d Ickes said. \u201cHe was able to spend his final day enjoying the beautiful weather and spent time with his family. Axel was an amazing K9 and while he was a hard-working and successful dope dog, he also brought smiles and excitement everywhere he went. I don\u2019t think I ever saw him shy away from scratches behind the ears or belly rubs.\u201d Tallmadge Police Chief Ron Williams said Axel will be missed. \u201cHe was a great dog and an asset to the community,\u201d Williams said. \u201cHe did a great job. Every time he was in a competition, he brought home a trophy.\u201d The German shepherd collapsed Nov. 4 and a cancerous tumor was discovered at Tallmadge Animal Hospital, which treats the city\u2019s K-9 dogs for free. Axel, who turned 9 in July, had surgery at Metropolitan Veterinary Hospital in Copley to remove his spleen and the tumor on Nov. 8. But the cancer had spread to his blood, and Axel was receiving comfort care. \u201cHe enjoyed working,\u201d Ickes said. \u201cAxel loved being in the cruiser. The last couple of weeks have been tough. He wanted to go to work. He\u2019d rather be in the cruiser and riding with me.\u201d Williams said the city purchases the K-9 dogs but during their working life they live with their handlers and are family pets. \u201cWe have an agreement when a dog can no longer work, the handler buys the dog from the city for $1,\u201d Williams said. Ickes has worked with Axel since the canine started with the department in 2012. The department has one other K-9, Kato, also a German shepherd, who went on duty this past May. Kato is 2 years old and from Germany. In July 2012, Axel was certified in everything but explosives and cadavers. He could do searches, criminal apprehension, tracking and narcotic detection. One of Axel\u2019s jobs working in a small community was to bridge the gap between police and citizens. \u201cAxel has a switch,\u201d Ickes said. \u201cHe knows when to work and when it\u2019s down time. He\u2019s very friendly, especially with kids.\u201d Axel had countless drug arrests and assisted in finding a missing person, Ickes said. \u201cHe had one apprehension with felling a suspect with a gun,\u201d Ickes said. Because Axel was a dual purpose dog, he couldn\u2019t search people and used a passive signal, Ickes said. Most of Axel\u2019s work included searching the exterior of cars for drugs inside. He also located one of the biggest shake-and-bake meth labs in Summit County inside a house in 2012, one of his first alerts. Axel was a police dog but also a community dog. \u201cThey were allowed to pet him,\u201d Ickes said. \u201cHe was their dog. He belonged to the city of Tallmadge.\u201d The city is working to raise funds for a new dog. People can donate to Tallmadge all year round, but should earmark for the K-9 unit if they want the money to go to it, Mayor David Kline said. \u201cAxel was so friendly, and Officer Ickes did a great job interacting with the public and going into the schools,\u201d Kline said. \u201cOur new K-9 Kato is doing extremely well.\u201d The K-9 unit gives officers an upper hand, helps out by sniffing out drugs and is a great asset for the department, Kline said. \u201cThe city could live without a K-9 dog, but it\u2019s an amazing program and works well and is successful,\u201d Ickes said. The department sells T-shirts and accepts donations to offset the costs of maintaining the dogs. \u201cHe\u2019s going to be missed,\u201d Ickes said. \u201cThe next dog has some big shoes to fill. Axel has been an overall amazing dog for the department and the city. The next dog expectations will be set high.\u201d Ickes said once he\u2019s chosen a new dog, the training begins. \u201cThe first few weeks and months are always tough because you\u2019re learning the dog and building trust,\u201d Ickes said. \u201cThe dog is usually one step ahead and you have to step up.\u201d With his experience handling Axel, Ickes has a better understanding of the thought process of a dog. \u201cI\u2019m hoping it will be easier, but before training, it will be finding the right the dog,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died – 12\/26\/19 Handler – Officer Nate Ickes Tallmadge police dog Axel loses battle with cancer For a cop, a dog is not just his best friend, he\u2019s a trusted partner who has his back. A police K-9 can find a missing person, apprehend a criminal and bridge the gap between police and the community. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-7930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-oh"],"yoast_head":"\n