A North Carolina police department is facing public backlash over the care of a K-9 and whether it should be allowed to retire with its former handler, WRAL-TV reports.
The dog, a 7-year-old German Shepherd named Pac-Man, had been partnered with Dunn Police Department Sgt. Nathan Ingram for the past three years until last fall.
That’s when Ingram was placed on light duty to recover from an injury. Since November, the dog has been kept in a kennel at the local animal shelter, which officials say was necessary to help Ingram heal.
“Based on the restrictions that were issued on him by his physician, we made the decision to remove the handler from him so we could make sure that he was receiving appropriate care,” Dunn Police Chief Cary Jackson told WRAL-TV about Ingram.
But Ingram disputes that claim and says he’s being retaliated against for missing a departmental photo shoot with the dog.
Ingram says Pac-Man has some health issues too and should be allowed to retire. Ingram, who has since switched jobs to another law enforcement agency, offered to pay the cost of replacing the police department’s K-9, but he says that offer was rebuffed.
“He went to work with me every day I worked, he came home with me, stayed at my house every night, for three years. And then he was suddenly taken,” Ingram told CBS 17. “That bond is something that’s not, not able to break.”
Jackson believes the dog is still capable of working and the department has found a new handler for him.
The controversy blew up on social media, prompting residents to speak out at a city council meeting and launch a petition to let Pac-Man retire and live with Ingram. As of Sunday, there were more than 10,600 signatures.
“This is a disgrace and inhumane,” one person who signed the petition wrote. “Let this officer retire with peace and dignity.”
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Feature Photo: Dunn Police Department K-9 Pac-Man and Sgt. Nathan Ingram/Facebook]
