St. Louis County K-9 Diesel Has Been Laid To Rest

Some of the hardest working officers in police work are the K-9 officers.  They work every shift to protect their partners, and our communities.  A K-9 will charge into a situation without fear, and give all of their energy to getting the job done, no matter what.  My personal favorite K-9 was recently laid to rest as he was suffering from degenerative spinal issues.  I called him my "Hairy Nephew", as my brother was his handler.  The Pup's name was Diesel, and it was the perfect name for him.

Diesel worked with the St. Louis County Sheriff's Department since 2014, the whole run with his partner and best friend, Deputy Fye.  The bond between a K-9 and their handler is really something special.  Diesel went everywhere with Deputy Fye, of course primarily to work.  More than that though, every trip to the hardware store, on road trips to pick up motorcycles, and at every family function, if my brother was there, so was Diesel.  He was great around other people and you don't always get that with working dogs, so that made him extra special.  I'll forever miss him clomping around at holiday celebrations eyeballing the food on the tables but never going for it, because he was trained so well.

Diesel and Deputy Fye worked hard to keep the Twin Ports area safe.  There were many high profile situations where they saved the day that you might have heard about.  As many of those situations as you might have seen in the media, I assure you there were hundreds more that didn't make the news.  As scary as it is having a relative in law enforcement, I really didn't worry much because I knew that Diesel had my brother's back.  The stories I've heard are truly incredible.

I was fortunate to have been able to ride-along with the two and see them in action looking for drugs that had been tossed in a chase.  Seeing my brother celebrate Diesel's drug find showed me a side of my brother you don't see that much.  He just lit up, and so did Diesel, knowing he did a good job.  His reward was always an ice cream cone or a burger for the jobs well done.  Diesel was a true hero and there will always be a hole in the hearts of our family, because that's what Diesel was, a family member.

Diesel was a favorite of many community members, especially younger kids.  Him and my brother were often featured at Northland K-9 events doing demonstrations.  Diesel excelled at tracking and holy hell, that pup could jump high.  Diesel will be missed by many.  You can learn a little more about Diesel, his career, and see some sweet pictures of him too, on the Northland K-9 Foundation page HERE.