Sheriff’s office renews canine program efforts
Deputies and employees of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and several members of the community came together Monday morning at the Bellefontaine First Church of God for a funeral service to commemorate the brief but also happy life of the department’s recently departed canine, Cane, whom his handler Cole Piatt described as both a playful and hard-working dog.
“He still had a lot of puppy in him until the day he died,” Deputy Piatt said of the seven-month-old German shepherd who passed away unexpectedly Nov. 14 following a short illness, as previously detailed in the Examiner.
“When we would get home from work, he would still be up for playing and didn’t just want to be done for the day like a lot of police canines are.
“When I was up getting ready to head into work, he was already running circles around me. While riding around in the patrol car, he was always sitting up and ready to go. He was non-stop and very observant.
“He was an excellent partner, and it was the worst day when he passed away.”
Deputy Piatt said Cane sustained a minor injury during a training exercise Nov. 12 outdoors at the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, when the dog ran “full steam head” into a trailer on the grounds.
“He yelped in pain after he hit the trailer. I took him right away to Northside Animal Clinic for treatment,” the deputy said
The dog was placed out of service that day, and later was transported to MedVet in Columbus, where he was being treated. Deputy Piatt said Nov. 13, the dog’s medical care team had told him to expect that he likely could take the dog home the next day.
“But then I received a call at 3 a.m. that Thursday (Nov. 14) that Cane had gone into cardiac arrest and we needed to get to the animal hospital right away.”
Cane passed away at 5:30 a.m. that day in the arms of Deputy Piatt. Autopsy results are expected to be completed this week to determine the exact cause of his death.
The German shepherd from Slovakia Republic in Central Europe started his career at the sheriff’s office Aug. 8. He and his handler trained together at the Von der Haus Gill German Shepherds & Police K9 Academy in Wapakoneta and became state certified for duty Sept. 25.
In the weeks that followed the training academy prior to Cane’s death, Deputy Piatt said he continued working with the dog on obedience training and had recently started taking Cane on traffic stops as well.
“He really made a lot of progress in those last couple weeks of learning to obey commands,” the deputy said. “The week that he died, we were working on plans to host a meet and greet with him for the community. He really loved people.”
Eichholtz, Daring & Sanford Funeral Homes and Cremation Center assisted with the arrangements for the service, where Lt. Ryan Furlong read Cane’s obituary, dispatcher Kayla Skidmore read a poem about police canines “Guardians of the Night,” and Pastor Gary Brown led the memorial service and offered a prayer.
Despite the unexpected passing of Cane, officials said the department’s renewed canine program will not perish. Deputy Piatt said he expects to begin working with a new canine, likely in March.
“While having a canine program is costly to maintain, we are very fortunate to have a very generous community. Cane was purchased all with donations and we did not have to utilize taxpayer funds. That is our goal with our new dog as well,” the deputy said.
Through a memorial fund offered for Cane, approximately $2,000 has been raised thus far for the LCSO canine program and medical expenses for Cane’s treatment. Donations are accepted through Citizen’s Federal Savings & Loan, 110 N. Main St., Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311, in care of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office Behind The Badge Volunteers Inc., with memo “K9 Cane.”