Hello world!!! I wanted to start a blog about a unique friendship between a police dog and a rescued dog that captured my heart in August of 2016 and continues today.

My family was going through an adjustment period after our German Shepherd, Bady, died in February of 2016. Bady was a retired police dog that spent nine years patrolling the streets with his handler who is also my wife. Bady was retired from service in the Spring of 2015 after his age became a factor. After Bady’s retirement, my wife was paired with a new canine partner named Titan. Titan is a brindle colored Dutch Shepherd. Needless to say, Bady WAS NOT happy about Titan being on “his” property and riding in “his” patrol vehicle.

Over the next 11 months, Bady’s health started deteriorating and we made many trips to the vet trying to figure out what was wrong with him. It wasn’t until the night of February 13, 2016, that we found out what was wrong with Bady. My wife and I went to eat dinner and when we returned home, Bady wasn’t acting like himself and seemed lethargic. A short time later, Bady collapsed in our bedroom and could not move. I will never forget the scared look that he had on his face as we tried to lift his 80 pound body off the floor and into our vehicle to rush him to the vet. Once we arrived at the vet, we were told Bady was bleeding internally into his stomach which was due to a cancerous tumor rupturing. We had no idea Bady had a tumor in his stomach but knowing this explained why he hadn’t felt good. The vet told us Bady was suffering and the best thing that we could do was euthanize him. My wife and I were devastated but we knew we had to do this.  As word spread of Bady’s condition, police officers that worked with my wife and Bady on the streets showed up at the vet so they could say good bye.  Bady was surrounded by so much love when he left this world. He had given his heart and soul to so many people for so long and now it was time for him to rest.  Bady was cremated and his ashes were placed in a bottom container of a flag box which displayed a folded American Flag with Bady’s name and his years of service inscribed on the box.  After Bady’s death, my wife and I really struggled. Bady had been transitioned into being an inside dog since his retirement so our house felt empty. My wife and I agreed that we wouldn’t get an inside dog for a while. But that was soon to change.

In June of 2016, I started following a program in our state called Paws in Prison. This is a program that allows inmates who are incarcerated to train dogs that have been rescued from various shelters around the state and placed in an eight week training program. The inmates train, feed, and sleep with the dogs that are assigned to them. This is where I first saw Choctaw. She was approximately 20-25 pounds, brindle colored, and listed as a pug/terrier mix. There was something about Choctaw that just made me smile. So, I started following her online as she went through her training program. After eight weeks, Choctaw graduated from the program and became available to the general public for adoption. On Saturday, August 13, 2016, I saw an advertisement online stating Choctaw and the other Paws in Prison dogs would be at a location downtown so that people could come look at them. Well, I asked my wife if we could go because I wanted to meet Choctaw. My wife knew that if we went to “meet” Choctaw, more than likely we were coming home with Choctaw. And, that’s exactly what happened. 

Next up, bringing Choctaw home.