By Marty Gordon
Local law enforcement agencies are mourning the deaths of two K-9 officers earlier this month. Both Virginia Tech and Christiansburg lost important members of their police departments.
Bax
Ringo, a Belgian Malinois, had served Christiansburg for five years and retired in August 2017. He had worked for several other police agencies before he was donated to CPD.
In a statement, police chief Mark Sisson said Ringo had worked hard for the residents of Christiansburg and Montgomery County until he retired.
“Our K-9 unit is incredibly important to our operations – from narcotics detection to tracking, but also in regards to community engagement. People love dogs, and Ringo, especially, helped us in outreach and relationship development. Ringo was a hardworking, athletic dog that contributed immensely to several important cases, but he could also immediately put a smile on your face. Our K-9 unit is often overlooked, but the work they do is important, and Ringo will forever be remembered because of that,” Sisson said.
Bax, a German shepherd, had served at Virginia Tech for a number of years and recently retired because of failing health. His partner, Officer Jaret Reece and his family had been caring for the animal.
For more information about Christiansburg K-9 unit, visit www.christiansburg.org/118/K9-Unit and Virginia Tech at police.vt.edu/programs-training/k9-unit.html