Marysville's first police dog retires after 7 years

After seven years of service, police dog Heiko has retired from Marysville Police Department.

Marysville Police Department will have a ceremony to honor Heiko on at 7 p.m., Feb. 13 during the Marysville City Council meeting.

Public Safety Deputy Chief Ed Gerrow said Heiko will be greatly missed at the police department.

“One thing we’ll miss is him tipping over our trashcans,” Gerrow said. “That was his signature move if you weren’t giving him enough attention.”

Heiko partnered with Officer Justin Reeves. According to Reeves, Heiko has completed over 600 deployments during his career. Heiko has assisted Marysville Police Department in drug detection, suspect searches and arrests.

Heiko will now live with Reeves as a family dog.

“He’s going from protecting the community to protecting the home,” Reeves said.

Reeves said the transition will be slow and difficult because Heiko is used to a work routine. He said that although Heiko’s body has aged, his mind has not. Heiko would probably keep working if he could.

Heiko is an 8-year-old German Shepard.

Heiko trained for three months to be a dual purpose police dog, meaning he specialized in detection and apprehension. Reeves said one of the most memorable apprehensions was when Heiko helped him arrest four men fighting.

“I had to deploy Heiko from a locked police car,” Reeves said. “I used the remote to open his door and ordered him to assist because (the men) were fist fighting between two cars, on broken glass and in the dark.”

Reeves said Heiko was the perfect first police dog for the department. Heiko was able to focus on his duties and uphold the law, but then flip a switch and be playful.

“He had that dichotomy where he could be deployed for these dangerous situations, but then he could also flip that and be calm for preschool demonstrations,” Reeves said.

Marysville Police Department is encouraging the public to either attend or watch the city council meeting. Gerrow said the police department want to send Heiko off right, and also have the community see him off.

Marysville Police Department will have another police dog in the future. The new dog will have the same qualifications as Heiko but will most likely be utilized during night shifts rather than the day. Gerrow said the dog could be used more because it has better night vision.

Gerrow said the police department still needs to choose the dog and handler. He said Reeves is being considered because of how well he worked with Heiko.

Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com or (810) 292-0122.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Marysville's first police dog retires after 7 years