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Died 12/26/22
Handler – Officer Buhrow
Waverly PD officer pays tribute to K-9 Bond who served for 9 years
It’s a bond like no other.The officer and his K-9.It is a matter of life, death and love that is so deep, so intimate and so real that trying to put it into words is an exercise in futility.Suffice it to say that not even death can break the connection between Officer Josh Buhrow, an almost 20-year veteran on the Waverly Police Department, and his loyal K-9, Bond.As Buhrow and his family said goodbye to Bond on Dec. 26, Buhrow paid tribute to this departed buddy on his Facebook page, sharing the good times, the funny times and the scary times they spent together.”These are some of my most favorable times of my law enforcement career,” Buhrow told Waverly Newspapers on Wednesday, referring to the nine years they worked on the WPD. To purchase the dog, the Waverly Police Department received a $15,000 grant from Nestlé, which at the time brought the K-9 program to its goal of approximately $30,000, according to 2010 reporting from Waverly Newspapers.Bond first arrived in Waverly from Northern Michigan in 2010, and it took time for him to get used to his new role as a K-9. But Buhrow, who had recently retired his first K-9, Cindy, was ready for a new partner. With time, their bond became immutable and Buhrow had the names of both Cindy and Bond tattooed on his right arm. “I knew from the start we had one crazy boy,” Buhrow said of the dog’s personality when he arrived in Waverly. “It didn’t take long for Bond to prove that either, as separation anxiety forced him to destroy a Christmas tree, all its trimmings and a plastic kennel when I went for a vacation with other dogs.”Bond’s service in the community is well remembered and praiseworthy.Buhrow took him to Heritage Days, Waverly’s town celebration, and to educational meetings for various groups to demonstrate his skills.But his ultimate loyalty belonged to Buhrow.“His devotion to me and his job was all he lived for,” Buhrow wrote.The dog would “go crazy” in his kennel when Buhrow would rattle his gun belt, he said in the post.Trained to sniff out narcotics, track and protect his master, Bond was always ready to step in harm’s way, Buhrow recalled.“One of my proudest moments with Bond involved a situation where Bond helped save a life,” he wrote.In 2018, as a member of a four-dog team, Bond and his fellow K-9s, won first place for narcotics detection for participation in trials by the United States Police Canine Association. In his nine years on the job, Bond asked little for his services–playing tug of war with his special toy and going for rides in the squad car were his rewards.”He loved his car,” Buhrow told Waverly Newspapers.Bond retired in 2019 and swapped the adrenaline of being a working K-9 officer with the serotonin of taking naps on the deck, getting belly rubs by the family and chilling out with his humans.“Never have I spent this much time with an animal and never have I demanded so much out of one,” Buhrow said in the post. “We had good and bad days at work. Some days he would amaze me and some days he would make me go crazy. Any K-9 handler will tell you this is part of the job. Our little family is hurting right now but we are lucky to have had him in our world. ’Till we meet again, Bond.”
