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Died – 11/29/15
Handler – Officer Jason Ebert
Police mourn Bethlehem K9
A Bethlehem police dog died Sunday after being diagnosed with an untreatable form of cancer, police said Monday. Chief Mark DiLuzio said that K-9 Rexo, a 9-year-old German Shepherd died Sunday morning in the company of his partner Officer Jason Ebert and several other officers. “Our condolences go out to Officer Ebert who lost a partner and friend,” DiLuzio wrote in a press release Monday. Ebert said he was partnered with Rexo since February 2008. Since then, Rexo has gone home with him after every shift. Rexo was trained in explosive detection and patrol work. As an explosives expert, Rexo was used to sweep through areas before the arrivals of high-profile visitors, such as the visit of the Dalai Lama to Lehigh University in 2008. Ebert said they searched areas before the arrival of all the presidential candidates who have come through Bethlehem in recent years, including first time candidate Barack Obama, John McCain and Hillary Clinton. When interviewed for an article on police dogs in 2011, Ebert said that there is a theory that one K-9 is as effective as seven officers in controlling a crowd. “He was playful, he loved playing ball, playing fetch,” Ebert said. “He always wanted to get something, tree limbs. If he found a big limb he’d pull at it and drag it around.” And Rexo – like his name suggests – was king in the house. Ebert said he has another dog, but he has to keep them separate because Rexo wanted to be the boss. Ebert said Rexo had cancer of the lymph nodes and dealing with Rexo’s death was extremely difficult. “It was really hard, I never want to have to go through that again,” Ebert said of Rexo’s death. But would he be interested in working with another canine partner? “Oh yes, absolutely I would, I want to,” Ebert said.
