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Died 2/6/22
Handler – Lt. Seth Boudreaux
Retired Terrebonne K9 dies after years of service
The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office bid farewell this week to one of its retired K9s. K9 Ilka, who retired in late 2019, died Feb. 6 at the age of 10. After joining the Sheriff’s Office in 2011, Ilka completed her training and was assigned to the uniform patrol division in 2012 and became Lt. Seth Boudreaux’s faithful partner. “During this time they established a bond like no other, they spent more time together than apart,” the Sheriff’s Office said Thursday. “Ilka was entered into many competitions for several years and placed every time in narcotics and patrol functions within NNDDA (National Narcotics Detections Dog Association). Ilka was truly great at what she did and loved to work.” During her eight-year tenure on the force, Ilka won multiple individual and team awards and helped apprehend many suspects including those wanted for murder and other violent crimes, the Sheriff’s Office said. She also helped remove hundreds of pounds of illegal drugs off the streets including marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin, officials said. Ilka apprehended 12 drug suspects during her years of service. She helped carry out search warrants and other searches, where her focus was razor-sharp, the Sheriff’s Office said. After retiring from the force at the age of 10, Ilka continued her service to the community by teaching other dogs how to become service K9s, the Sheriff’s Office said. She remained with Boudreaux and his family until she died. In an interview in 2020, Boudreaux said police dogs have the same authority as their human partners. “They’re more like partners than anything,” he said. “They’re commissioned through the state of Louisiana as deputies, so they hold the same power as us. We use them on a day-to-day basis. For us, these bonds are very important. We spend more time with these dogs than we do with our own families.”
