My two very best friends from High School live away from Minnesota these days. Mike lives in the DC area after having lived overseas for a few years. My other good friend Tom-better known as the Mad Moose- lives and works as a policeman in Palmetto, Florida.
Moose had been a very good paramedic at North Memorial Medical Center, but always had law enforcement in his blood. He dropped a bunch of weight and moved his family down to the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida just south of Tampa. I remember getting a picture of him sitting on his police-issued Harley with the Bay of Bradenton in the background. It would take a lot to get Moose of his bike. It turns out all that it took was a 90 pound German Shepherd.
The dog’s name is Talon. He has been Moose’s partner for the better part of 6-7 years. It’s a unique relationship that a K-9 police officer has with his 4 footed partner. They work together in dangerous circumstances and the dog also is a part of the family. Having a German Shepherd and a pug named Kirby at home is a comical sight, particularly since the pug thinks that he is the Alpha Dog. Talon and Moose have been through a lot looking for drugs, searching in marshy, disgusting places for bad guys, and Moose has had to have Talon take down more than a couple of fleeing crooks. My buddy is one of those people who just loves his job.
Last week, Moose got some bad news about his partner. Talon has an inoperable form of cancer. The city of Palmetto medically boarded Talon out on the spot, even though Moose feels like Talon can still do less strenouous work like drug-sniffing. Now when Moose is in uniform, and he heads out the door, he has to leave Talon behind. It just kills him to do this. Talon, for his part, is very confused by all of this. He waits by the front door for a good couple of hours crying to go to work. It’s all that he has known. That part is really hard for both Moose and Talon. When I talked with Moose last week, he said he is holding up, but he knows when the time comes to put Talon down, it is just going to gut him.
He tole me that he does not want to continue to be a K-9 officer anymore. He’s feeling like it is more of a young guy’s thing, but the biggest issues are the amount of paperwork, and is virtually impossible to get home owners insurance in Florida when you own a breed like a pit bull, Rotweiller or German Shepherd because of fear of biting and the liability-even if the dog in this case is the property of the city of Palmetto.
It’s a sad thing to think that Moose and Talon are no longer patrolling the streets of Palmetto. It’s going to be a sad day in Moose’s household once they have to say goodbye to Talon. After having said goodbye to our 12 year old golden retriever a couple of months ago, I kind of understand-but if possible, the bond between Talon and Moose runs much deeper.
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