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Died – 12/5/15
Handler – Officer Julie Bailey
K9 Cir dies at age 11
Vacaville Police Officer Julie Bailey remembers the first time she met her partner, K-9 Officer Cir. He leaned against her leg and looked up at her lovingly. “I thought it was a sign,” she said. Later on, she would discover that Cir gave everyone that look, she said. And soon enough, people all over Vacaville fell for him too. “You couldn’t help but love him,” she said, thinking of the countless school demonstrations and appearances the two made at the annual Merriment on Main holiday event. “He was a deeply-rooted part of our community.” Like all of the dogs in Vacaville’s K-9 unit, Cir — a pure-bred German Shepherd — was purchased and trained for the police department thanks to private donations from citizens and businesses. “He really was the city’s dog,” she said of Cir, who passed away Dec. 5. “I’m just so grateful,” she said, fighting back tears. Along with putting on public events, Cir did countless searches for criminals and drugs, Bailey said. One time the pair were out looking for several men who they heard had fled on foot behind some houses. Bailey walked up the driveway in the front of the house and prepared to go around back with Cir. Without being prompted, Cir began barking and clawing at a truck next to them that had a camper top on it. Bailey was shocked to find the suspect had hidden right next to them.“He could smell the guy’s fear,” she laughed. Cir retired from the police department in 2013 when he started to slow down a bit, she said. When Cir was with her, Bailey said she never had a bad day at work. He would always perk up, whether it was time to go to work or it was time to go home. “Whatever you thought was a good idea, he thought was a great idea,” she said. Vacaville Police Sgt. Dave Spencer, who supervises the K-9 unit, remembers hearing Cir’s giant paws thumping down the office hallway toward the desk drawer that housed his treats. “He had that big teddy-bear style about him,” Spencer said. “A lot of the kids and families loved Cir.” He also was a great crime-fighter, Spencer said, adding that Cir had a knack for finding drugs and “bad guys.” And Bailey made sure he was in the public eye, he said. “She did a really good job with that,” said Spencer, who was a K-9 handler alongside Bailey. “They were a really good team.” There was instant chemistry between Cir and Bailey, he said. “She was a perfect match,” he said. A lot of people think the K-9s are just a tool, said Bailey’s husband Chuck who also is a Vacaville Police Officer. But these dogs are working side-by-side with their partners and live with them and their families, he said. “You get so attached to this ‘tool’ that it becomes a part of you,” he said. Around Thanksgiving this year, Bailey and Chuck found out that Cir had pancreatic cancer. On Dec. 5, they took him to the veterinarian and put him to sleep. Even the veterinarians were big fans of Cir, Chuck said. “They were super compassionate,” said Bailey, adding that they let her lie next to her dog. Cir won over the community and even some of the criminals he encountered, Bailey said. Cir was once sent out to find a man who was holding a child hostage, she said, adding that he located the man in a closet. The man ended up doing some time in prison, and apparently received Cir’s Christmas card and had it hanging up in his cell, she said. When Cir retired, Bailey thought he would die of heartache when he realized he wasn’t able to work anymore. But he lived happily as the family dog for another two years, she said. “I feel honored to have had him for two (more) years,” she said.
