Rover served on the Muncie Police Department from 2000 to 2010 before he was put into retirement. He died last week, and a military funeral was held for him on Sunday.
Turner acquired Rover back in 2000 when the dog was just 3 years old. Turner happened to be in Chicago training K9 units when he and Rover were introduced. The dog was actually being trained for the Chicago Police Department, but the trainer there thought Rover would make a better fit for Muncie because of his size.
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| A photo of K9 Rover and his trainer, Sgt. Jay Turner, is placed outside of Rover's burial site. |
The transition wasn’t exactly an easy one for Rover. Turner said the dog was scared to leave the kennel and all of the officers were afraid to open it up and grab him.
“I figured I was going to go in there and get bit or I was going to be his handler,” he said. “We had it out in the kennel right then, and from then on it was a good relationship.”
After that, Turner said, Rover fit right in with his family.
“Rover came into our family just like he belonged there,” he said.
Rover was special from the start, according to Turner. He was able to flip the difficult switch between work and family, a task with which police dogs often struggle.
“He was a unique dog in the fact that on the street he could be so mean,” Turner said. “But I could get a bite at 4 in the morning and by 8 in the morning have him in the kindergarten class and kids petting him and climbing all over him, and he loved it.”
Rover quickly became well known around the community and especially among the suspects he apprehended. One of Turner’s favorite Rover stories involves a time when they chased a suspect and Rover had to bite the suspect’s arm to catch him.
Turner said,“We walked the suspect by the car and he turned to Rover and said, ‘You got me a good one that time, Rover.’”
Despite making his reputation on the streets of Muncie, Rover was a family dog. It is typically recommended the K9 dogs be kept in the kennel when at home, but Turner said Rover was always inside with his family.
“When I was off doing something else, he was there to protect them, too, so that was pretty cool,” he said.
Turner described his personal relationship with Rover as being “best friends.”
“Whether I was at work or not, he was with me,” he said. “I spent more time with him than I did with my family because we were working anywhere from 12 to 16 hours a day and he was with me all that time.”
Turner and Rover shared many moments together, including some that showed the dog’s comic personality. Rover would often take a drink of water and intentionally smear the remaining drool and water mix on Turner’s shirt, many times leaving it soaking wet.
Although there were many laughable moments, Turner also remembered one particular instance when Rover could have saved his life. It was a routine traffic stop and, because the department was short that night, Turner allowed Rover to come out of the car with him.
“Rover broke away from me and tried to jump into the window and was barking at the guy and I thought something just wasn’t right,” he said.
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| Sgt. Jay Turner works with his police dog Rover during Rover's last training session in 2009. Star Press file photo |
Turner said he ordered the man to exit the car and when he apprehended him, he discovered a cocked and loaded 9mm pistol sitting in the front seat. He said Rover had never broken away from him before.
“He knew something was wrong,” he said. Turner was convinced Rover very well might have saved his life.
Rover had been very ill the past few months, and Turner knew the end had been coming for a while. A military funeral wasn’t in his original plans for his best friend.
“Actually, what I wanted to do was cremate him and put him in my casket when I kick,” he said.
Turner’s wife, along with his close friend Hagerstown Police Chief Kieth Folkner, planned the funeral and Turner wasn’t aware of it until two days before.
“He was a fantastic dog and he’s going to be missed,” he said.
(The Star Press - June 6, 2012)
