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Died 6/10/20
Handler – Deputy Scott Chambers
Dragonn, a 14-year-old Belgian malinois, was a dual purpose K9. Dragonn, who worked with sheriff’s deputy Scott Chambers for six years and continued to live with Chambers and his family after retiring in 2016, was put to sleep on June 10. Rocko, who worked with and lived with Greeley officer Kevin Clarey after joining the department in 2015, died over the weekend. “Without them, I don’t think we’d be successful in a lot of cases,” Chambers said. At 14, Dragonn was considered old for a working dog. Chambers, who called him “hard hitting,” said Dragonn had been experiencing some health issues in his back and hips related to age and the “wear and tear of patrol.” Dragonn was replaced by the sheriff’s office upon his retirement and the department currently has six other K-9 at work: Viper, Ringo, Loki, Rok, Kenzi and Dexter (at the jail). Greeley police spokeswoman Officer Rebecca Ries said Rocko, too, had been experiencing some health issues. Rocko retired in January after nearly five years with the department. Ries said Rocko was a patrol dog in California for about a year before ending up in Greeley. “He was an exceptional K-9, and when working patrol, he did it 100%,” Ries said. “He helped out our K-9 unit tremendously. He will absolutely be missed.” Both Rocko and Dragonn were dual-purpose dogs for their agencies, meaning they worked narcotics and performed searches, tracking and apprehension. Chambers said he recalled an incident about seven years ago in the search for a juvenile that ended successfully because of Dragonn. Deputies tracked the juvenile to Bella Romero, and once there a tip helped the officers and dog continue the search. “Seeing us utilizing canines and they gave us more (information),” Chambers said. “People love animals and love watching the dogs. I was pretty proud of him that day.” Dragonn joined the sheriff’s office when he was about 3 1 /2 years old, and Chambers said one of the reasons the department picked the dog was for his “light switch personality.” Dragonn, a very sociable and calm dog, knew it was time to go to work when Chambers pulled out his own uniform at home. “He would get excited,” Chambers said. “He do laps around the couch. We did a lot of demonstrations for the public throughout his career and children loved him.”
