Posted on 01/25/2013 7:13:01 AM PST by SandRat
Tucson police dog Ivan did his job and protected officers "in the dark who were in harm's way," said Officer Ron Payette, speaking at a memorial service for the fallen K-9.
Payette relived on Thursday, outside police headquarters, that Dec. 12 night when he and other patrol officers were chasing an armed carjacker that led to the fatal shooting.
Some 200 people, including officers representing more than a dozen agencies from the Tucson area and Scottsdale, paid their respects to the 3-year-old Belgian malinois and Officer Chris Fenoglio, Ivan's partner.
Ivan's ashes were in a wooden urn that was placed in front of a color photograph of Fenoglio with Ivan at the Memorial Plaza in front of the downtown police station. Ivan's leash lay near the urn, which was flanked by a wreath and large bouquet of red and yellow flowers.
"All of us will miss Ivan," said Payette, explaining that the police dog was a hero and did his job by taking a bullet first rather than allow other officers to get hurt that night.
Ivan was shot while assisting officers with the arrest of the carjacker who led officers on a chase that ended in the Sam Hughes neighborhood.
Ivan was released by Fenoglio, who bit Fernando Velarde-Loureiro, 53, on his left arm. Velarde-Loureiro shot Ivan in the thorax, and Ivan died at a veterinary hospital.
Four officers shot and killed Velarde-Loureiro after he refused to drop the gun.
After the service, 9-year-old Madison Fenoglio, the officer's daughter, talked about the morning moments with Ivan that she misses most.
"I would wake up to Ivan licking my face and his paw on my shoulder," said the elementary school student.
Madison walked up to the Memorial Plaza, looked at an image of Ivan on the wooden urn and said: "God bless you because what you did was very brave."
Ivan's ashes will remain in the urn on a wall unit in the family's living room.
Meanwhile, the Tucson Police Officers Association is working to name a Rita Ranch dog park for Ivan. It was at that one-acre park within Purple Heart Park on East Rita Road that Fenoglio would allow Ivan to run off his energy after his shift each night before going home.
ping
Lovely loyal dog! RIP! Velarde-Loureiro. . . hmmm that’s IRISH isn’t it? /s Smells like illegal alien/Obama’s son/Holder’s people to me!
g’s handler How many police turn out to honor citizens’ dogs shot down in their own home or yard by trigger-happy cops?
I can certainly understand the police dog handler would grieve for his dog,and also other officers who knew the handler, but 200 officers at a dog’s memorial just because it was a police dog ?
Sure. How many of the police officers that were in attendance were being paid overtime?
Beat me to it. Glad someone else agrees.
Law enforcement dogs are considered cops and killing one is tantamount to killing a human LEO.
Yet they can fire upon civilian-owned dogs with impunity and are guaranteed to be found justified in their actions.
It’s pretty bad when you read a headline like this one, and the first thing you wonder is whether the dog was killed by “friendly fire.”
Apparently some dogs are more equal than others.
It must have been a pretty bad gun shot. Tucson has/had some excellent trauma vets. Years ago I brought one of my dogs who had been shot in the face to one of these vets and he put my dog back together beyond all my hopes and expectations.
Could you imagine someone going in front of a judge and claiming, “I was afraid for my life, much the way the cop who shot my dog was afraid for his, so I shot his K9 officer to protect myself. I don’t see a logical difference in the distinction.”
It would take the best lawyer in the country to argue the point, but they would still lose. If the cops can do it to our innocent pets, I don’t see why we couldn’t protect ourselves from their deliberately aggressive K9 partners.
i don’t understand how a dog can be a cop,don’t you have to take an oath?
If the carjacker had died there probably wouldn't be three people who cared beyond his mother...
That's a great point, Gringo!
I’m glad they got the b****** that shot him.
R.I.P. Ivan.
.
All Dogs, especially Police/Military Dogs go to Heaven
After the service, 9-year-old Madison Fenoglio, the officer’s daughter, talked about the morning moments with Ivan that she misses most.
“I would wake up to Ivan licking my face and his paw on my shoulder,” said the elementary school student.
Madison walked up to the Memorial Plaza, looked at an image of Ivan on the wooden urn and said: “God bless you because what you did was very brave.”
>In fact, if Ivan would’ve had his druthers, I’m sure he’d have rather lived his life with a family that had a really big back yard and lots of squirrels. <
Maybe most dogs, but a Belgian Malinois is most happy when it has a job to do. They are highly intelligent and if not given something to do, they’ll invent things that are not necessarily non-destructive.
I lived with one for over 15 years. They’re incredible, but they do not do well with pet owners who don’t exercise these very bright dogs’ minds on a regular basis.
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