Retiring Ohio police officer offered auxilary job to keep K-9 partner

When Hickey recently retired from the force, he learned he couldn’t just buy Ajax and take him home.

Officer Matthew Hickey has had K-9 Ajax for the past 4 years working alongside each other keeping Marietta safe.

Matthew Hickey was told Monday he could keep Ajax by simply signing-up to be an auxiliary cop in Marietta, Ohio.

The police chief said that city officials were bound by confidentially agreements and were unable to talk about the issue with the media, but that Hickey took it upon himself to “escalate the situation”.

The story went viral and was accompanied by support for Hickey and sharp criticism for the police department. This campaign is aimed to assist the Hickeys be able to bid on Ajax in the upcoming auction.

State law says Ajax is too young to retire and considered valuable department property.

Hupp said that despite all that has transpired, the city will still allow Hickey the chance to serve as an auxiliary officer in order to keep the dog. Hupp calls the move “a win-win for everyone”, but says it was in the works since Thursday, when Hickey told the media he feared losing his dog.

A retired OH cop, who offered to buy his K9 ex-partner so the two of them could remain together – only to learn the dog had to be auctioned off, may have found another way of stopping them from being separated. This auction is limited to retired or active police officers, as well as sanction K-9 trainers.

Hickey said the offer was never solid.

“I mean to save my dog”. A GoFundMe page raised more than $60,000 to help Hickey buy Ajax – far more than was needed.

The Ohio state law decrees that “A law enforcement officer who leaves an equine or canine unit of a law enforcement agency while the police dog or horse assigned to the officer is still fit for duty forfeits the right to purchase the animal under this section”.