Retiring officer forced to raise funds to buy his K-9 partner at auction
Matthew Hickey puts his arms around K-9 partner Ajax. (gofundme.com)
(FoxNews.com) - A just-retired Ohio police officer who sought to purchase his K-9 partner of four years from the city of Marietta received an unexpected reply: You’re barking up the wrong tree.
“I had the money for the dog and was ready to hand it to the chief of police, and the chief of police said he couldn’t take it,” Matthew Hickey told WCMH.
At issue is a state code. Officers can purchase their K-9 partners for $1 when the dog retires. But, in this case, Hickey is retiring, not Ajax. That creates a sticky situation, because the code also says a cop who leaves the force while the animal “assigned to the officer is still fit for duty forfeits the right to purchase the animal under this section.”
But there may be a way for Hickey and Ajax to stay together.
Read more on FoxNews.com.