MANITOWOC, Wis. (WFRV) – The Manitowoc Police Department is celebrating the illustrious career of one of its K9s retiring after nearly 8 years of service in which he helped seize numerous illegal drugs.
K9 Neko was born in Slovakia on October 27, 2014, and was brought to the United States in 2016 to be trained as a dual purpose Police K9 in Pennsylvania. Dual-purpose Police K9s are trained in multiple job elements, including drug detection, human tracking, protection, building searches and item detection.
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Officer Koenig partnered with K9 Neko on April 17, 2017, training at Shallow Creek Kennels in Sharpesville, Pennsylvania before Neko’s first day on patrol in Manitowoc on May 2, 2017.
The duo trained monthly and recertified yearly in all disciplines. K9 Neko’s career was spent largely as a passive alert drug detection dog, trained to sniff out an odor’s source. Upon locating the strongest odor’s location, he would sit or lie down.
In his career, K9 Neko helped to find and seize over 7.5 pounds of drugs and over $78,000 in cash from drug deals, including the following drugs:
- 837.2 grams of cocaine
- 52.2 grams of crack cocaine
- 16.2 grams of heroin
- 22.1 grams of fentanyl
- 3.4 grams of ecstasy, MDMA
- 8.7 grams of psilocybin mushrooms
- 1634.7 grams of marijuana bud
- 288.3 grams of marijuana wax/edibles
- 23 morphine/prescription pills
- 250 items of drug paraphernalia
K9 Neko also helped locate 78 missing people or suspects in his career with searches and detection, along with four recovered firearms.
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In March 2023, Officer Koenig and K9 Neko also received an Award of Valor for lifesaving efforts made a month before, when they located a man requiring immediate medical help, as he would’ve died from cold temperatures if left unfound.
Upon his retirement, K9 Neko will live with Officer Koenig, spending “some well-deserved days rolling around in the snow, spending time with his family, and enjoying lots of treats and toys,” the post said.
