- September 11, 2022
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- 5 minutes read
Logan City Police retire longtime K9 officer – Cache Valley Daily – Cache Valley Daily
LOGAN — The Logan City Police Department retired one of its K9 officers last week. RIk, a seven-year-old Belgian Malinois has been with the department for more than five years.
Assistant Chief Jeff Simmons announced RIk’s retirement, during a regional training sponsored by the police department and Cache County Sheriff’s Office. He said the K9 and his handler, Micah Openshaw, had been involved in hundreds of drug seizures and criminal apprehensions.
“These dogs keep communities safe,” explained Simmons. “Everybody pays attention when a dog shows up at a scene. It doesn’t matter how many people you have in a crowd, they stop and are paying attention to what that dog is doing. Even before a taser, it’s a dog they are paying attention to. These dogs provide a lot of safety.”
The decision to retire RIk was made after it was determined the K9 was beginning to develop some health issues.
Simmons said RIk will continue to live with Openshaw, who has treated him like a part of his family.
“There is a lot of unpaid time handlers put in to train and be the best companion with a K9. We don’t appreciate it enough, and we know that because we don’t do it but we are appreciative of it.”
RIk joined the police department after being imported from the Netherlands. He was trained on narcotics detection, and tracking and apprehending suspects.
Openshaw said most of time, he and RIk would be called out to detect drugs during a traffic stop or help apprehend a violent individual.
“Based on the free air sniff around the car’s exterior, we may get an alert that there’s an odor of narcotics coming out of the vehicle or we may not,” said Openshaw. “From time to time, we’ll also get called out for a barricaded subject that could possibly be armed, where there is a threat to the lives of other people. So, we would have to take steps to try and apprehend the suspect before things escalate to somebody getting hurt.”
As part of RIk’s retirement, Openshaw was presented with a plaque from the police department, recognizing the K9 and handler’s years of service.
Openshaw said it’s hard to see RIk retire. The two have been together 24/7 during the past four-and-a-half-years.
“It will be a big change not having RIk come to work with me each day. It will take some adjustment and getting used to but it will be nice to still have him at home.”
K9’s and their handlers from multiple agencies throughout the west traveled to Logan last week to participate in training and recertification. The classes were taught by Vohne Liche Kennels, an Indiana kennel that specializes in training police dogs and their handlers.
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