MARION, OH (MARION COUNTY NOW) – “A true warrior fights not because he hates the one in front of him, but because he loves the ones behind him.”
That paraphrase of a quote by English author and Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton adorns the foot of the newly completed Marion County K9 Service Memorial, which was dedicated on Dec. 9 outside Marion City Hall. It succinctly describes the value that law enforcement dogs have in serving and protecting local communities, officials said.
“Police K9s play a central role in keeping our community safe and they do it in a multitude of ways,” Marion Police Chief Jay McDonald explained. “You all know how they can find drugs and help prevent overdoses. You all know how they can find evidence to help us have a prosecutable case. And you all know how they can catch bad guys and help protect the citizens of our community.
“But they also play a role in helping us have conversations with citizens to help us establish relationships that go beyond that moment in time when a kid gets to pet one of our K9s,” McDonald added. “And that’s an equally important role that our K9 handlers and their partners perform for the sheriff’s office and the police department every single shift they work.”
The memorial was built to honor all of the K9 deputies and officers who have served the residents of Marion County since K9 units were first established in the community in 1973. It’s located on the east side of Marion City Hall, facing the parking lot.
“These dogs are trained from the day they’re born, whether it’s overseas or here, and they work every day of their lives until they get to retire,” Lt. Mark Elliott of the Marion Police Department said. “Some of them don’t retire and some of them don’t retire until it’s almost too late. They give us everything they have.
“Our dogs protect our officers and they protect our community. It’s what they do,” Elliott added. “This means a lot to me and my family. It means a lot of to all of our handlers and their families. We spend t a lot of time with these dogs and these dogs in turn do a lot for the community.”
Elliott, the handler for K9 Six who retired in 2022, said when former Marion Police Chief Bill Collins greenlighted his idea to create a K9 memorial several years ago, he subsequently received the blessing of the City of Marion administration, most notably Service Director Cathy Chaffin, whom he said has been a vocal advocate for the memorial’s development.
“There was zero hesitation when we started talking about it,” Elliott said.
Elliott noted that Chaffin was responsible for the major design ideas of the memorial. He proposed having a center pillar and she then suggested enhancing the project to add two more pieces on which the names of K9 deputies and officers could be inscribed.
The names of all 33 K9 deputies and officers are inscribed on the memorial. One section honors the 21 dogs who have served the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the other section honors the 12 dogs who have served the Marion Police Department. Current K9 deputies and officers are also listed on the memorial walls.
Following are the Marion County Sheriff’s Office K9 deputies with their years of service in parentheses:
- K9 Major (1973-1979)
- K9 Tobin (1977-1978)
- K9 Royce (1977-1979)
- K9 Banjo (1985)
- K9 Rocky (1985-1988)
- K9 Schultz (1985-1992)
- K9 Cory (1985-1990)
- K9 Kato (1985-1994)
- K9 Arteus (1990-1994)
- K9 Rebel (1991-1996)
- K9 Bear (1992-1994)
- K9 Simon (1994-2002)
- K9 Chance (1996-2003)
- K9 Gunner (2003-2008)
- K9 Sig (2007-2016)
- K9 Kilo (2007-2017)
- K9 Taz (2016-2018)
- K9 Nero (2016-2021)
- K9 Viking (2018-2021)
- K9 Comet (2022-present)
- K9 Viking II (2022-present)
Following are the Marion Police Department K9 officers with their years of service in parentheses:
- K9 Falco (1995-2003)
- K9 Johnny (1995-2000)
- K9 Ace (1997-2000)
- K9 Kody (2000-2008)
- K9 Silver “Bullet” (2004-2012)
- K9 Bosco (2009-2013)
- K9 Six (2013-2022)
- K9 Bella (2015)
- K9 Stash (2015-present)
- K9 Kaos (2016-2017)
- K9 Joker (2018-2023)
- K9 Ranger (2022-present)
- K9 Shanel (2023-present) [Name not listed on monument because it was completed before she joined MPD.]
Elliott said American Legion Post #584 in Marion was a major financial supporter of the memorial project and he thanked the members for the work they did on behalf of it. Chaffin said the total cost of the project was approximately $50,000.