Handler – Officer Donald Briggs<\/p>\n
K9 Willie Poisoned<\/p>\n
A K-9 officer on the Gary police force suddenly dies after being poisoned. CBS 2\u2019s Steven Graves reports on how the devastating loss hits especially hard for the department\u2019s K-9 unit as a whole. K-9 Willie was his name. He was one of the newest recruits to the Gary Police Department\u2019s K-9 unit. Gary police said it\u2019s still unclear how this new police K-9 got sick, adding to the shock and grief over his sudden death. \u201cIt\u2019s just a tragedy how it happened,\u201d said Staci Goveia. Gone before the hard work began, after officers say he died from poisoning. \u201cIt\u2019s more typical for a K-9 to pass on from cancer or old age. It\u2019s not typically hear about a poison in a K-9. Staci Goveia is president of the organization Protecting K-9 Heroes. She\u2019s been in close contact with Willie\u2019s partner, Officer Donald Briggs since the police dog died late last month. \u201cHe was only with his canine for several short months. It\u2019s an unbreakable bond between those two and it was a very heartfelt loss to Officer Briggs as well as the Gary Police Department,\u201d said Goveia. The Gary K-9 Association is now reaching out to the community for help. On top of Willie\u2019s death, members were preparing to retire an older canine soon. It leaves a big hole in the five dog team that does vital narcotics and other crime fighting work. \u201cI know Gary has tried to raise money in the past for a K-9 and it\u2019s been very very slow going,\u201d said Goveia. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t know if people don\u2019t understand how important the canines are.\u201d The Gary K-9 Association said it\u2019s dealing with a tight budget and depends heavily on community funds. But a burden they won\u2019t have to worry about is memorializing K-9 Willie. That\u2019s where Goveia stepped in with a donated plaque and painting.It\u2019s now in the hands of the officer dealing with his partner\u2019s untimely death. The investigation is ongoing. It can take thousands of dollars to buy a canine and train it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Handler – Officer Donald Briggs K9 Willie Poisoned A K-9 officer on the Gary police force suddenly dies after being poisoned. CBS 2\u2019s Steven Graves reports on how the devastating loss hits especially hard for the department\u2019s K-9 unit as a whole. K-9 Willie was his name. He was one of the newest recruits to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9246,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-9244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-in"],"yoast_head":"\n