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Ionia DPS K-9 Blocker dies after short illness
The Ionia Department of Public Safety’s first and only K-9 is being remembered for serving his community. K-9 Blocker died the morning of Jan. 29 after a short illness,according to a post on the Ionia DPS Facebook page. The German Shepard is the first K-9 in the history of Ionia DPS. He was one month shy of turning 10 years old, according to Ionia DPS. Blocker was teamed with Ionia DPS Officer Jennifer Skorka to create the department’s K-9 unit. Originally from Poland, Blocker came to Ionia DPS in 2014 — serving the department and community for 7 1/2 years. As the Ionia DPS K-9 unit, Blocker and Skorka were tasked with finding narcotics and tracking suspects to be apprehended, along with searching buildings and serving as a community resource. Ionia DPS described Blocker as having a high work drive being an excellent tracker. Blocker also visited schools in the community — patiently letting everyone pet him. “Condolences to Officer Jennifer Skorka on the loss of her partner and friend. RIP K-9 Blocker, you will be missed,” the Ionia DPS post read. Ionia DPS Director Troy Thomas told The Sentinel-Standard that Blocker had a huge effect on the department as its first police dog. “As this was our first time in venturing into this field, we were really hoping to get a well trained police dog for tracking and narcotics work that also could interact with the public for positive impact,” Thomas said. “Blocker excelled in both areas, his ability to track was outstanding, and his personality and intelligence to go into schools and patiently work with children of all ages was exactly what we wanted in a police K-9.” Ionia DPS has “received an outpouring of sympathy over Blocker’s passing,” Thomas said. The community originally donated to the department in 2014 to fund the K-9 unit. That effort helped Blocker earn the label of being a community dog, Thomas said. “Even after Blocker and Officer Skorka went into service as a K-9 team, the community continued to donate money towards his medical costs, food, a bullet proof vest, and a bite suit so that he could continue to train and be prepared for his work,” Thomas said. Ionia DPS plans to continue the unit and will again seek help the community “in the near future” to donate for a new K-9 officer, Thomas said. The Blocker Memorial Fund will be established to raise funds to continue the Ionia DPS K-9 fund into the future, Thomas added.
