One of Pasco’s Most Famous Police Officers Is Retiring
Pasco Police Department via a social media post has announced the retirement of one of their most famous officers...K-9 Lemon is retiring after 8 years of service.
Here's the touching post and we hope K9 Lemon enjoys his retirement with plenty of bones and belly rubs!
THE PASSING OF THE TORCH
In life, there is one thing that is constant; change. On Tuesday November 12th, 2019, #K9Lemon will officially be retiring at the start of the Pasco City Council meeting. Lemon has faithfully and dutifully served the citizens of Pasco and the surrounding area since he began his career in 2011. In his 8 years of service, Lemon has had a paw in the capture of countless dangerous suspects. He has located suspects waiting to ambush officers, forced his way through cornfields, into dense brush, under houses to locate suspects and swam into the water to bring in suspects. Lemon has assisted in illegal narcotics seizures across our area. He has been punched, kicked and injured; his tail wagging the entire time.
The connection between an Officer and a Canine partner is unique in law enforcement. They are always together and depend on each other as a lifeline; the canine on the handler for all that they need and the handler on their canine to make it home safe after their shift. They ride together, and usually…the canine doesn’t complain about where to go for lunch. Unfortunately, Lemons body can no longer keep up with his drive. Lemon will be 10 in January and near the ‘expected’ working life of a canine dog. That is one of the amazing things about a canine partner; they always want to go to work, retirement isn’t something they dream about during those dog days of summer. (Just the next race out of the car and tug of war with a new friend! Why were most of his new friends always running away though?)
Some of you know the story, but for our friends who do not; in September, Lemon suffered a twisted stomach that required emergency surgery. Thanks to the quick work of Dr. Swick and the staff at Mid-Columbia Pet Emergency, Lemon’s life was saved. He recovered and was able to return to work several weeks later. However, in late October,Lemon began showing signs of complications associated to his original surgery. On October 27th Lemon underwent another surgery to address these complications. Dr. Stidham of Vista Veterinary in Kennewick performed the second surgery and Lemon’s life was saved again. Lemon is still recovering from his second surgery and, as with any surgery, there are no guarantees.
With this type of injury, there is a strong concern that Lemon could inadvertently re-injure himself. Due to these health concerns, the very challenging decision was made for #K9Lemon to retire. Now, as with all retirements, this is going to be a huge change for Lemon, but he will be retired at home with Officer Madsen and his family. The belly rubs, trips, treats, and care will not change.
A personal message from K9 Lemon’s handler (or the Lemon chauffeur):
“I wanted to take a moment to thank the community for their years of support for K9 Lemon and our K9 program. It is humbling to know that so many are out there rooting for Lemon on his deployments and praying for our safety as we work. It has been an honor to share Lemon with our community groups, schools, Cub Scout troops, and youth organizations. The years I have spent with Lemon have made me a better police officer and person. Thank you all for everything. K9 Lemon is as much your dog as he is mine, so I will make this promise to you: Lemon will have a happy and comfortable retirement with his family, and he will not want for treats or belly rubs. He has earned it.”
Now and then, #K9Lemon will make an appearance on the Pasco PD FB, just to say hi from his new bed. The Pasco PD K9 Unit’s other dogs, #K9Hapo, #PoundSignJucon and #K9Ezra will still be out there protecting our citizens, along with our Officer’s. But for now, we honor and thank Lemon for his lifetime of service as he moves into his new role; and gratefulness for all that Officer Madsen and his family have done.
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