Died 1\/31\/20
\nHandler – Officer Sower<\/p>\n
\u2018Fun-loving\u2019 Ionia County Sheriff\u2019s Office K-9 dies<\/p>\n
Dinar\u2019s death was \u201ccompletely unexpected,\u201d said Sower, who served as Dinar\u2019s K-9 handler. Sower said the dog wasn\u2019t feeling well on Monday, Jan. 27, and took him to Sterner Veterinary Clinic the next day. \u201cI could tell he was not doing well,\u201d Sower said. Veterinarians believe Dinar had a liver problem, Sower said. After Dinar\u2019s health wasn\u2019t improving, Sower told Sheriff Charlie Noll, Undersheriff Andrew Bucholtz and Lt. Jack Pieters on Jan. 30 that he would take Dinar in the next day to be put to sleep. Dinar would\u2019ve turned 9 on Feb. 16. Sower started training with Dinar in October 2013 and hit the road with him in December of that year. Dinar lived and worked with Sower. Sower noted Dinar\u2019s high intelligence when the sheriff\u2019s office purchased him. \u201cRight from the get-go, he knew what he was doing,\u201d Sower said. \u201cHe was instantly an asset to the department.\u201d Dinar was previously at another department when Ionia County purchased him, Sower said. Noll served as undersheriff at the time and remembers assisting in picking out Dinar from a local company. Noll quickly realized Dinar stood out in field training and believed his smaller size would be an asset to the department. \u201cWe thought that would be a benefit for us,\u201d Noll said. \u201cWe really wanted to make sure he had the energy and the drive to do the work.\u201d Sower remembers Dinar was instrumental in apprehending a suspect in a robbery at the Burger King in Belding in January 2015. Patrick O\u2019Connell, of Belding, was sentenced to a 50-month to 15-year prison sentence for the robbery in June that year. \u201cThat was probably one of the funnest memories,\u201d Sower said of working with his K-9. Dinar was trained for narcotics detection, tracking and trailing, article searches, suspect apprehension and handler protection, Sower said, calling him an \u201call purpose dog.\u201d \u201cHe was just a good all around dog \u2014 happy and obedient,\u201d Sower said. Dinar took 263 calls in six years for the Ionia County Sheriff\u2019s Office. That doesn\u2019t count Dinar\u2019s community relations work. \u201cThe reason we got the dog was to find and apprehend criminals and suspects but we also outreach to the schools and community to provide an understanding of what a K-9 does in law enforcement,\u201d Noll said. Sower said he\u2019d take Dinar to speak to health classes at Belding Middle School each year. He brought Dinar in to conduct obedience work and find drugs, while the students would throw a ball to him. \u201cIt was fun to see the kids\u2019 faces light up when the dog would come into the room,\u201d Sower said. Finding narcotics felt like a game for Dinar, Sower said. Sower would do obedience work with his K-9 in the yard at home. \u201cHe was very high strung and he just wanted to have fun and play,\u201d Sower said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t know how to stop.\u201d Dinar served as the department\u2019s replacement for its former K-9, Kramer, who died in January 2014. Kramer was semi-retired when Dinar came in and the department was able to plan ahead, Noll said. \u201cDue to this sudden outcome, we weren\u2019t able to plan like we did in previous years,\u201d Noll said. Noll said the sheriff\u2019s office wants to continue the K-9 program but needs to work through funding. Dinar cost roughly $10,000 including training. Noll said he would like to have something in place by October but said \u201cit\u2019s going to take some time.\u201d \u201cWe just lost a valuable tool \u2014 a valuable member \u2014 of this agency that we\u2019ve had for quite a few years,\u201d Noll said. Noll said the department could contact other agencies to request a K-9 if one is needed. As the department navigates the time without a K-9 Sower said he will miss his \u201cawesome\u201d dog and partner. \u201cFun-loving, hard-working, motivated and dedicated,\u201d Sower said. \u201cThat pretty much sums him up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died 1\/31\/20 Handler – Officer Sower \u2018Fun-loving\u2019 Ionia County Sheriff\u2019s Office K-9 dies Dinar\u2019s death was \u201ccompletely unexpected,\u201d said Sower, who served as Dinar\u2019s K-9 handler. Sower said the dog wasn\u2019t feeling well on Monday, Jan. 27, and took him to Sterner Veterinary Clinic the next day. \u201cI could tell he was not doing well,\u201d …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-8090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-mi"],"yoast_head":"\n