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Died – 9/7/16
Handler – Sgt. Stephen Dixon
Harvard police dog Hunter laid to rest
Hunter was a good boy. Sgt. Stephen Dixon, of the Harvard Police Department, laid a good friend and fellow officer to rest Wednesday after more than a decade together. Hunter the German shepherd was 14 years old and retired – the city’s first and only K-9 officer. He was imported from Germany when he was less than 2 and worked with Dixon from 2006 to 2014. “He was happy and a sharp dog to the end. That’s the hard thing, when the body goes before the mind does,” Dixon said. “A lot of people think a police dog is this big, mean dog that goes around biting people. They don’t see the other side, where they are focused and obedient. The work ethic is amazing.” The city didn’t have a K-9 unit when Dixon began with the department in the early 2000s. It’s a pricey endeavor. The cost of the dog and training alone can climb past $10,000, not to mention the addition of a car that can fit a cage. Police dogs are typically pre-trained before import and then go through a three-month program with their handlers after arrival at the department. Annual maintenance training also is expected, Dixon said.
