The Richmond Police Department is mourning the loss of one of its own
this week: K-9 Koda of the
Department’s K9 Unit.
K-9
Koda, a
6-year-old German Shepherd, began showing
signs of distress and discomfort on Saturday and was taken to the emergency vet.
After emergency treatment, Koda peacefully passed away after a terminal illness
was discovered.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Koda and his handler, K-9 Officer Montague Agee, who have
been assigned together since 2007.
“Koda loved to work. He loved tracking, he was excited about his job
and he loved catching bad guys,” Agee said.
“There was nothing more important to him than to find something or
catch that suspect and get his toy as a reward. His favorite toy was a purple
octopus that squeaked. It’s funny because he’s supposed to be this “vicious” dog
and yet the best thing in the world to him was to run around with this purple
octopus that squeaked.”
Agee was proud of the fact that Koda was one of the Department’s
first K-9 teams with the temperament that allowed him to be deployed with the
Department’s SWAT team during incidents.
“It was an honor to be in the K-9 Unit and I thank everyone for their
support,” Agee said. “They're more than just animals. We put our lives in their
hands. I never had a doubt. If a suspect was hiding somewhere, he’d find him and
do what he had to do.”
Chief
Bryan T. Norwood said
the pair was a great team.
“Koda and Officer Agee are reflective of the high quality of our K-9
Unit,” Chief Bryan T. Norwood said.
“We will miss the team of Officer Agee and K-9 Koda and their dedication to the
K-9 Unit, Richmond Police Department, the City of Richmond
K-9 Koda and his partner Agee graduated from patrol school together
in December 2007 and have worked together ever since. Since then, K-9 Koda has
made 55 apprehensions and located approximately 25-plus pieces of evidence,
including firearms, clothing and items belonging to suspects. He was also
certified in smokeless, meaning he was specifically trained to find firearms,
shell casings and bullets.
K-9 Koda will be recognized during the Department’s Salute to Excellence Awards on
Aug. 9.
Anyone wishing to send cards, donations or learn more about the K-9
Unit may do so via the Friends of the
Richmond K-9 Unit at P.O. Box
25495 , Richmond , VA 23260
