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Handler – Detective Vaughn Bechtol
Lake Oswego Police are mourning the loss of Charger
For many years, Lake Oswego Police Department detective Vaughn Bechtol saw his K-9 partner, Charger, more than his wife. The duo not only chased “bad guys” during work shifts, but also cuddled on the couch in Bechtol’s living room, walked to Dutch Bros. for morning pick-me-ups — where Charger lapped up whipped cream and cookies — and attended community events side by side. And even after Charger retired, Bechtol signed the paperwork to take ownership of the dog.This March, at 12 years old and a couple years removed from a long career with the LOPD, Charger passed away. Though heartbroken, Bechtol takes solace in the good times the companions shared. “It’s hard for us (K-9 handlers) to put into words the bond you have with an animal, working together with the same goals, same purpose,” Bechtol says. “You can’t explain it until they’ve held the leash. It’s a really unique bond to have.” About 11 years ago, the LOPD reintroduced the K-9 program and Charger was one of two dogs to join the force. K-9 handler Bryan McMahon says the dogs not only provide an office morale boost but bolster law enforcement proficiency and safety. “The presence of the dogs typically calms everyone down. Also time (is a factor). If you have to search a whole building, a dog will maybe clear it in five minutes whereas it takes 4-5 officers over an hour to clear it,” he says. Bechtol’s introduction to Charger was a bit stressful. During an exercise to train Charger on how to track people properly, Bechtol served as the target. And after Charger found Bechtol in the bushes, he bit him in the arm (as he was told to do). It was Bechtol’s first time enduring a dog bite and the experience was a bit intimidating, but a suit protected Bechtol from injury and he immediately noticed Charger’s infectious spirit. “Anytime he would bite, his tail is wagging the whole time,” Bechtol says. “It’s just a big game of tug to him. That’s how we train our police dogs. It’s all games. It’s all positive reinforcement.” Bechtol wasn’t Charger’s first handler but took over that responsibility a couple years into the K-9’s tenure. Though he said many handlers keep the K-9s in cages outside of their home, Bechtol soon ushered Charger into his abode. “I did that (kept Charger in the kennel) for maybe a month or so before I brought him inside the house,” Bechtol says. “He became family immediately. He was such a social dog.” The Bechtol family would leave a window open in the living room, called the “Dog TV,” that Charger and Bechtol’s cat would stare out of for hours, and Charger often begged for the opportunity to jump on the couch. LOPD K-9 Sergeant James Peterson remembers Charger as a prankster and says the police department would line up to babysit Charger whenever Bechtol was out of town. “One day he was staring at me, and I go ‘What?’ and he head butts me in the chin. And he’s smiling. And then he did it again,” Peterson says. And unlike some K-9s that struggle to turn off the predatory impulse, Bechtol would allow K-9 to interact with kindergarteners and retirement home occupants while off leash. “Socially he thought, ‘I’m just a dog. Pet me,'” Bechtol says. Meanwhile, Bechtol says Charger was one of the best trackers around. Not only did the dog win first place in official K-9 competitions, but he caught myriad criminals and saved victims. “He made me look good,” Bechtol says. “He knew how to do his job.” Bechtol especially remembers Charger’s last mission. One day, after Bechtol caught a man with multiple felonies smoking marijuana at Lake Oswego Junior High around midnight, the man attempted to escape on his bike. So Bechtol released Charger and the chase began. Charger found the man, jumped on his back, dragged him down and pinned him to the ground. Though he endured a couple wounds, the man couldn’t help but give Charger his props. “We had never practiced taking someone down off of a bicycle,” Bechtol says. “It was pretty impressive.” In another canny maneuver, Charger pulled a man’s pants down so that he couldn’t run anymore and easily captured him. Charger also found a missing person in Mountain Park. “We started walking the pathways and the next think you know he just pulls me hard left deep into this ivy brush area,” Bechtol says. “I could tell by the way he is breathing and pulling he’s tracking somebody.” Charger slowed down gradually through the years and then retired two years ago. For the first few months after retirement, Charger would refuse to leave the garage door for hours after Bechtol left for work. “Unfortunately for police dogs, as soon as they retire sometimes their health just declines pretty rapidly,” Bechtol says. “They’re pack dogs and they need purpose and sometimes when you take that purpose away from them it really breaks their hearts.” Charger eventually acclimated to a more sedentary life but Bechtol decided to decline an offer to adopt another K-9. “I just knew that would probably break his heart,” he says. Charger was diagnosed with cancer in January and later with a heart murmur. Recently, after a veterinarian fed him a bacon cheeseburger and brownies, Charger was put down. “It’s the worst call you have to make,” Bechtol says. “The vet said it’s always too soon until it’s too late.” In the last couple months, Bechtol says he and his wife periodically hear “phantom footsteps” throughout the house that remind them of Charger. “This is my partner, somebody who has looked out for me for years. Spending as much time as I did with him, it was really difficult. My wife and I are still dealing with it,” Bechtol says. But Charger won’t be forgotten. A few years ago, local artist Connie Bowen drew portraits of the LOPD’s two K-9s. So when Bechtol walks into the office, Charger’s regal face stares back at him. “After Charger passed, the very next day I came into work. I saw his painting in the doorway and it tugged on some heartstrings,” Bechtol says. “I looked up the artist and sent her an email saying thank you. I get to see my partner everyday coming into work now.”
