Thurston County K9 enters early retirement

Nothing about Marko’s career as a Thurston County Sheriff’s Office K9 has been typical.

He wasn’t bred to be a service dog, as many police K9s are. Instead, he was found wandering the roads of Steamboat Island with no collar, chip or other identification.

In October of 2014, Deputy Rod Ditrich, who heads the agency’s K9 division, called Marko remarkable.

“Of all the dogs that I have seen over my career, Marko is miles ahead,” Ditrich said.

But earlier this year, Marko’s career took another surprising turn. He was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and forced into early retirement.

His former handler, Deputy Chris Packard, said Marko was a pleasure to work with. During the 15 months they worked together, Marko helped catch 15 suspects.

“I don’t think Marko thinks he’s ready to retire,” Packard said. “But we were told that he’s one bad jump from his hip popping out.”

Packard said that it would be difficult to repair the damage, given that Marko is a high-energy dog. So rather than allow Marko to injure himself permanently, the Sheriff’s Office has opted to let him retire.

When the Sheriff’s Office began working with Marko, they believed he was about 18 months old. But given his current condition, he was likely closer to three or four years old, Packard said.

“Had we known his age, we might not have gone ahead with training,” Packard said.

But the dog’s age makes him even more remarkable, Packard said. Despite being an older stray, he was able to pick up skills that many puppies — puppies specifically bred for police work — are never able to master.

“Now it’s even more amazing for me to think about where he may have come from,” Packard said. “Who knows how long he was on his own?”

Marko won’t be living with Packard during his retirement, as the handler will be given a new dog to work with in coming weeks. Packard said his home and yard aren’t big enough to accommodate two alpha dogs, so he had two choices: give up Marko, or cut short his own career as a K9 handler.

Sgt. Cameron Simper, a fellow dog lover and Thurston County Sheriff’s office employee, came forward and offered to take Marko. The dog went to live with his new family about two weeks ago.

“Sgt. Simper has a lot of property, so there’s plenty of room for Marko to run around and just be a dog,” Packard said. “If I hadn’t been able to find him a home, I probably would have kept him and not gotten another dog.

“It helps that Marko’s going to someone I know, so I’ll still be able to see him,” he added.

The Sheriff’s Office’s K9 program is largely funded by public donations. And because donors have been generous, the agency will be able to afford another dog.

Packard and Ditrich are flying to Indiana next week to meet some puppies, and hope to choose Marko’s replacement from Von Liche Kennels.

“They’re one of the leaders in the U.S. for police and military service dogs,” Ditrich said. “So we’re hopeful that this will be the best dog we’ve ever had.”

The dog will begin training soon after he joins the Sheriff’s Office, and Packard said he hopes the training will be complete by June.

The new puppy will join two other K9s working with the Sheriff’s Office. Ditrich works with Jaxx, and Deputy Tyson Shenkel works with Daro. Ditrich’s former K9 partner, Rex, retired Dec. 31.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Thurston County K9 enters early retirement."