Police dog put down after one final ride in squad car

CONNECTICUT -- A flag waved at half staff next to a draped black cloth at the Ridgefield Police Department, the place where a K-9 officer once worked. Zeus, who served the department for nine years, took a final, one-way ride in a squad car to Ridgefield Veterinary Hospital Wednesday.

“This is an honor to be here for him during his last moments,” said Chief John Roche. “The disease that had racked him had deteriorated to such a point where it was just so difficult for him to exist and continue on.”

 

 

Zeus retired from the department in 2014 because of a degenerative hip disorder and said his final goodbye Wednesday. He was wheeled through a row of police from all over the state with his partner, officer Shawn Murray, at his side every step of the way.

Scott Murray, Shawn’s brother, says with Zeus’s passing they’ve lost a member of their family.

“He was in the yard when there were picnics,” said Scott. “He played, he chased the ball, he did what all normal dogs do, what all normal family dogs do, except he had a job.”

 

He had a long resume of helping people. During his time with the department he located six people in life-threatening situations, and assisted with hundreds of arrests. After the police cruiser ride Wednesday night, the Ridgefield Police Department posted one more tribute on their official facebook page.

(WTNH - April 16, 2015)