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Died – 4/5/18
Handler – Officer Watson McKee
Dwight Police Department mourns loss of Klatscho
Dwight Police Department announced the untimely passing of its K-9 unit officer, Klatscho, on Wednesday. The police dog had served the Village of Dwight since 2011 before an untimely diagnosis of cancer, said Dwight Police Chief Tim Henson, who noted that efforts were already underway to receive a new K-9 unit officer as early as April 17. Henson first provided some background as to how the inception of its police dog unit. “Our K-9 unit had its beginning in December 2010, which was when we went to the community to start the K-9 program in Dwight due to the extensive problems with drug usage in ours and surrounding communities,” he said. “Fortunately, the community came together and raised close to $70,000 to purchase our first K-9 officer, which was Katscho.” “Katscho proudly served the Village of Dwight until his resting day, April 4, 2018. He had several notable arrests, helped track several individuals who were lost in a corn field and also did several school searchings. He was just an an overall asset to the community. We’re never going to totally get rid of drugs, but Katscho’s presence made a noticeable difference in our community.” On a more somber note, the Dwight chief said that Katscho was diagnosed with an inoperable cancer in December 2017, and that he and Katscho’s K-9 handler, Officer Watson McKee, were told that the police dog only had weeks to live. While Katscho would survive months beyond, the DPD recognized the immediate need for a K-9 officer to replace him once he finally passed.
