Citizens band together to help retired officer adopt his K-9 partner after city government wanted to charge him thousands of dollars
04/22/2016 / By JD Heyes / Comments
Citizens band together to help retired officer adopt his K-9 partner after city government wanted to charge him thousands of dollars

Matthew Hickey recently retired from the Marietta, Ohio, police department. His partner for his final four years was none other than Ajax, a German Shepard police dog who became more than just a sidekick.

After 30 years on the force, Hickey, who had grown quite used to Ajax, was given the option of buying him for about $3,500. But under Ohio law, Hickey can’t simply write the city a check and take the dog home.

The law says that Ajax has to be auctioned to the highest bidder, since he’s just 5 years old and has a “useful life” ahead of him, probably another five years. If the roles were reversed and Ajax was retiring, Hickey could get him for $1.

The city has a second canine officer so they don’t need Ajax, per se. But as the city Mayor Joe Matthews told Fox 8 in Cleveland, his hands are tied. He said he wants Hickey to be able to buy the dog, and that the city’s law director is currently attempting to figure out a solution.

Meanwhile, a Change. org petition received nearly 12,000 signatures a day after it was posted. As of this writing, it had received more than 27,500.

In addition, a GoFundMe account was being set up to help Hickey bid on Ajax. In a single day the account raised $21,783 – far more than the $3,500 goal. As of this writing the fund had risen to $72,535, an astronomical sum given the fact that the fund also states any unused portion will be donated to fund the purchase of K-9 bullet-resistant vests.

Sources:

Fox 8

CBS 12

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