Officers say goodbye to Kemo 
K-9 officer dies of rare cancer 
By DARLA McFARLAND
The Examiner  8/10/02
   Independence police dog Kemo, who died Aug. 2 from cancer. He touched the lives of thousands of children, uncovered hundreds of pounds of illegal drugs and aided in dozens of searches for dangerous criminal suspects. On Aug. 2, Independence Police K-9 officer Kemo lost his life to a rare form of spinal cancer. Kemo's partner and handler, Sgt. John Bullard, said his dog was more than a pet, more than a partner and more than a friend. "I think it is hard for people who do not work close with animals the way we do to understand," Bullard said. "There is a very special bond between an officer and their K-9 partner. It has been very touching for me, for my family and for the other guys in the unit." K-9 officers live at home with their handlers. The dogs ride in the back of a patrol car with their heads resting inches from their handler's shoulder. "They are right there with us, 24 hours a day. We spend more time with the dogs than with our own families," Bullard said. Kemo was born in Holland in 1996 and trained in Indiana. He received his commission with the Independence Police in 1998 and was partnered with Bullard. In his career, Kemo did more than 130 public appearances and demonstrations for thousands of school children and neighborhood groups. He was trained as both a narcotics dog and for patrol duties that included locating suspects hiding from police. "His big claim to fame is probably a hotel search we did with the DEA in January 2000," Bullard said. "As soon as we exited the car, he did a bee-line for this van in the parking lot. It was a textbook example of a vehicle search." Kemo's keen nose uncovered 100 pounds of marijuana concealed in the gas tank of the van. He has also found drugs concealed in the steering columns of a passenger car and dozens of other places. "They (the dogs) can find drugs in places we would never look. Criminals can be very ingenious," Bullard said. Besides sniffing out narcotics, Bullard said the canine officers protect the lives of their handlers and other police officers. The dogs are sent into dark woods, basements, empty buildings and other places where possibly dangerous criminals are hiding from police. "That is probably the hardest thing for us ­ to send our K-9 into a situation where they could be seriously hurt or killed. If you think that doesn't affect us, it does, believe me," Bullard said. "But, if it is to protect the life of an officer or a citizen, then that is their job. They would give their lives for us, without hesitation." Kemo has served the last four years with no major injuries or problems, Bullard said. Then, this June, he began to fail very suddenly. "He was dropping weight pretty fast, and we noticed him dragging his left rear foot," Bullard said. "He must have been in pain long before that but he never showed it. He was a very stoic dog." Local veterinarians ran tests and put Kemo on medication, but he continued to lose weight. Eventually, Bullard took Kemo to the University of Missouri School of Veterinary Medicine in Columbia, Mo. Lead physicians there tested again and recommended new medicines. "Nothing was working. The pain just got worse and he kept losing weight," said Bullard. Finally, Kemo fell to 20 pounds under his former weight, even with double servings of food. The MU veterinarians performed a CAT scan and finally found the cause of Kemo's decline ­ a rare form of cancer attacking his spinal cord and nervous system. "We made the decision to have him put to sleep the next day," Bullard said. "We wanted him to go with as little pain and as much dignity as possible." Kemo's body was left with researchers at MU to explore the nature of his rare cancer. He will be cremated and returned to Independence later this month. Bullard wants to have a proper resting place waiting for him. "We had the idea to do a memorial for the K-9 officers a long time ago. We just never had a permanent place to do it," he said. Now, the K-9 unit has taken over a building on Missouri 78, just east of Blue River Community College. The building was donated by the Little Blue Valley School District, which occupies another building on the property. The planned memorial site is a 42-foot gravel circle with a 50-foot flag-pole standing in the center. Bullard and other K-9 unit officers went Friday to select a memorial stone for the cite. The stone will be engraved with a picture of a German Shepherd, the breed of many police dogs, including Kemo. "We just feel it is right that they should have a memorial to recognize the contribution they make to the department, to the community and to the fight against crime," Bullard said. Kemo's name will be engraved with the names of two other lost K-9 officers ­ Arco, who died in July 1996, and Jake, who died in June 1997. The K-9 unit is still collecting contributions to pay for the memorial site and to complete renovations of the new facility, kennels and training grounds. Contributions can be sent to FOP/Coins for Canines, c/o Sgt. John Bullard, 2150 Independence Center, Independence, Mo., 64057. Additional funds are also needed to pay for the cost of purchasing and training two new police dogs. One dog will fill Kemo's place and the other will take the position of K-9 Larry, who retires later this month.
To reach Darla McFarland  or call her at 350-6321.

Partner:
Tpr. Dennis Sullivan
MA STATE POLICE K-9 SECTION
164 Pond Street
Stoneham, MA 02180
PHONE: (781) 279-1283 164