Related Articles
Died 4/21/20
Handler – Jim Knogge
Community Correction K9 Vasco made a lot of friends in the community — and possibly a few enemies — but on Tuesday, he saddened a lot of people, not the least of whom was Jim Knogge, his handler.“I got a phone call from my family on Monday,” said Knogge, who is a Tippecanoe County Community Corrections officer and a Dayton police officer. Monday night, Knogge bunked beside his canine partner of nine years, and Tuesday morning, Knogge and his family made the difficult decision every pet owner dreads. “His quality of life diminished so terribly bad we had to let him go,” Knogge said. “We didn’t want to prolong his pain.The plan was to get him into 2020 and retire him on his birthday,” Knogge said. “But he got aspirational pneumonia. We decided that it was time to retire.” Vasco never recovered from the illness, which slowly stole his energy and health. “It’s tough,” Knogge said. In addition to rooting out drugs and tracking people and running down suspects, Vasco became an ambassador to the community, Knogge said. He was a gentle, trusted dog that could go to schools and public outings for up-close presentations, even allowing children to love and pet on him, Knogge said.Vasco, a Belgian Malinois, was Knogge’s third dog to partner with him in his work as a community corrections officer and police officer. Even though he said these endings get tougher with each dog, Vasco won’t be his last canine partner. He’s scheduled to receive a new dog in June. If all goes well, Knogge and his new pooch will be working together before the end of July. Since making that difficult decision to let Vasco go, the friends, supporters and colleagues rallied around Knogge and his family. There was a long procession past Knogge’s home Thursday night as a drive-by tribute to Vasco. “I appreciate the community’s support,” Knogge said.
