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Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009

Police drug dog recovering from injury

When K9 Keelo goes outside, he usually bounds straight to his handler’s patrol car.

“He goes to the car door, ready to go,” officer Ryan Willis said.

That’s not the case these days, though. The 2-year-old drug-sniffing German shepherd is recovering from hip surgery.

Keelo was struck by a sport utility vehicle on Riverside Drive on Nov. 1 and underwent surgery at Auburn University four days later.

Lt. Kelly Monroe said there were no complications during surgery.

“He’s supposed to make a full recovery.”

Keelo is under orders to rest in his kennel for four to eight weeks before returning to duty.

Willis and Keelo were off duty and playing in Willis’ backyard Nov. 1 when Keelo trotted behind a shed.

It’s common for Keelo to do so to relieve himself.

But when Willis called for the dog, he didn’t come.

“I expected him to pop his head out, but he didn’t,” said Willis, a K9 officer with seven years of experience. “It’s not like him.

“If I call him, he’ll stop whatever he’s doing and come to me.”

Starting to worry, Willis called other members of the unit to help him search for Keelo.

The group searched his neighborhood and nearby Riverside Drive, but Keelo was nowhere to be found.

At one point, Willis said he had a feeling he should check Riverside Drive again. He searched the portion of the road just north of Pierce Avenue and didn’t see Keelo.

Then a motorist stopped him at the bottom of the hill and said that a dog had just been hit by a car.

He turned around and found that a passing motorist had helped Keelo to the side of the road near Park Community Bank.

Willis said it’s possible that Keelo saw his car out searching, ran into the road toward the car and got hit.

Police Chief Mike Burns said he’s glad Keelo is on the mend.

“He does tremendous work for us. He’s a part of the police department,” Burns said. “If one of our officers gets hurt, we try to help them heal.”

Veterinarians told the department that Keelo would be in pain and wouldn’t be able to return to work as a drug dog if he didn’t undergo some form of treatment, Burns said.

The department chose Auburn University as the facility for Keelo’s surgery after consulting veterinary specialists in Atlanta, at the University of Georgia, Auburn University and Fort Valley State University.

Auburn was chosen because of its past experience with the procedure and lower cost, Burns said.

The cost of the procedure will be paid for using confiscated funds, he said.

In hindsight, Willis said he thinks Keelo smelled an animal, chased it out of the yard and didn’t hear Willis call for him to return.

“This has never ever happened. Nobody ever thinks something like this could happen,” he said. “I feel real bad about it.

“He’s like my kid.”

Willis said his yard is bordered by a creek and a storm drain. He said he’s making plans to build a fence to ensure that Keelo won’t get out again.

Information from The Telegraph’s archives was included in this report. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.