What started out as a trip to the vet for a chipped tooth quickly lead to an unexpected and tragic diagnosis for one of the K-9s on the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office team. Cpl. Morant Harrison was first partnered with the K-9, a female German Shepherd named Q, about a year ago. “She came named with a big really long name…and I couldn’t remember that when I was giving her commands, so I just shortened it to Q,” describes Harrison. “We’ve basically lived together for the past year.” Q was recently certified as a dual purpose K-9, trained in narcotics detection as well as patrol functions such as tracking and apprehending suspects. Q excelled at finding drugs and was well known throughout the K-9 community for having a great nose. Q was also unlike many police K-9s in that she was very social and never needed to be muzzled when taken into schools or when around Cpl. Harrison’s kids. “She’s never shown any aggression unless I’ve given her a command. She’s made it very easy to be a handler,” shares Harrison, who says his wife and kids are very sad and struggling with Q’s tragic diagnosis, as is he. At that visit to the vet, no one could have imagined that Q had a fast-acting, very aggressive form of cancer. The vet simply noticed that one of Q’s eyes was swollen and eventually recommended she see a specialist when the eye did not respond to treatment. The specialist performed an urgent surgery to remove the eye and tissue samples revealed the cancer diagnosis. The Sheriff’s Office, saddened by the news, medically retired the pup that was one of just two K-9s serving in their agency. This leaves a Belgian Malinois named Kimber as the lone K-9 now serving the Sheriff’s Office in Duchesne County. Q will be buried with police honors on Cpl. Harrison’s small farm. The Sheriff’s Office hopes to add another K-9 in the near future.
