Tampa Police, Pinellas Sheriff K-9 Heroes Gone But Never Forgotten

TAMPA BAY, FL — You won't see their obituaries listed in "Legacies" or hear an emotionally charged homily at a packed funeral service, but these heroes certainly deserve the accolades despite walking on four legs, occasionally slobbering on the windows of the police cruiser and indiscreetly urinating on a tree while the world watches.

Last week, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and Tampa Police Department bid farewell to two such furry heroes. Fortunately, these K-9 crime fighters didn't die in the line of duty like so many before them. They quietly retired from police work and died quietly at the homes of their beloved handlers-turned-family.

You could hardly live in Pinellas County any length of time without encountering K-9 Jager, whether he was making an appearance at a school, showing off his skills at a public event or racing through a neighborhood to chase down the bad guy.

Off duty, he was friendly, mellow and a bit of a ham, posing for photos in aviator sunglasses and comical hats.

But on the job, he was known for being relentless whether he was called on the hunt down a homicide suspect or find a lost child.

Born in the Czech Republic, he was a patrol canine for the Pinellas sheriff's office from November 2010 to November 2017. In that time, Jager, under the command of his longtime handler and friend, Cpl. Paul Martin, apprehended more than 200 people accused of committing crimes.

In between pursuing bad guys, Jager had the dangerous duty of conducting explosive searches at the nationally known Gasparilla Parade in Tampa, the Toronto Blue Jays spring training games, the annual Epiphany celebration in Tarpon Springs, the St. Pete Grand Prix and buildings in which the U.S. president was appearing.

After seven years of service as a Pinellas sheriff's K-9, from 2009 to 2017, Jager retired and spent his retirement taking trips to the Florida Keys with his family and hanging out with his brother, current K-9 Guinness.

Last week, almost five years to the day he retired, Jager died of natural causes.

Pinellas sheriff's deputies weren't the only law enforcement officers to get news that left them choked up.

On the other side of the bay, K-9 Indo was equally serious about police work. He was also similarly playful and friendly off the job when his handler Tim Bergman removed his bullet-proof vest and gave him the run of the house.

Born on Jan. 27, 2010, he came to the Tampa Police Department 7 1/2 years ago, earning a reputation for being fearless in the face of danger as he searched out felony suspects and sniffed out explosives despite the risks of the job. Those risks became all-too-obvious on Jan. 15, 2017.

Tampa police officers were called out at 10:40 p.m. for a possible burglary in progress at a home in central Tampa. When police, including Bergman and Indo arrived, they discovered a window on the side of the home had been smashed and they recognized a vehicle parked outside the home as belonging to a man wanted on outstanding warrants. Bergman, Indo and two other officers entered the home where they encountered the burglar.

Reacting exactly as he was trained, Indo prepared to lunge and clamp down on the burglar's arm, preventing him from fleeing until Bergman called him off to make the arrest. However, before Indo could act, the burglar threw a flaming liquid, which proved to be "Kilz" brand primer, onto Indo and Bergman, lighting the fur around Indo's face and head on fire.

Despite his own uniform catching fire, Bergman reacted with instinct, fearing for Indo's life. He opened fire on the burglar, hitting him once.

Bergman said concern for the dog overshadowed any injuries to himself.

"At first I thought he was shot because there was a lot of blood, but then I could see he had been burned," Bergman told The Dodo.

Blood covered Indo's face and Bergman immediately began treating the German shepherd with a first aid kit specifically created for police dogs by Frankie's Friends, a Tampa-based nonprofit.

"I used the kit to get the accelerant off and treat the wound and then rushed him to the vet," Bergman said. "He's been with me for over 5 1/2 years and he's my best friend."

The vet treated Indo for the burns to his face and Bergman took Indo home to recuperate for several weeks.

Initially, Indo was confused and a bit down when he watched Bergman go off to work without him. But Bergman's pet boxer, Diesel, soon snapped Indo out of his melancholy and made the few weeks before Indo was able to return to work more bearable.

While both Indo and Bergman recovered from their injuries, the attack on the dog didn't go unnoticed in the halls of the state Capitol.

At that time, injuring a working K-9 police dog, K-9 fire dog or a horse in a mounted patrol was considered obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor in the state.

State Rep. Josie Tomkow, R-Polk City, didn't think the penalty fit the brutality of the crime which essentially amounted to attacking a law enforcement officer, albeit one who was rewarded with Milk Bones and tennis balls rather than a paycheck.

Tomkow's efforts to increase penalties for harming a police dog or horse found supporters in 2019 when K-9 Fang of the Jacksonville Police Department was killed by a suspect.

Florida Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, authored a companion bill, called the Fang Memorial Bill, making it a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison or a $5,000 fine.

That still wasn't sufficient punishment as far as Debbie Johnson of St. John's County was concerned.

Johnson first became involved in the fight for tougher penalties for harming police dogs in 2015 when K-9 Baron of the St. John's County Sheriff's Office was killed on the job. After feeling compelled to attend Baron's funeral, she enrolled in the sheriff's Civilian Law Enforcement Academy. And the more she learned about these K-9 crime fighters, the more determined she was to help.

Not only did criminals receive what amounted to a slap on the hand for killing a working K-9, but the K-9 units throughout Florida were woefully underbudgeted. Police departments and sheriff's offices often couldn't afford to purchase the bullet-proof vests needed to protect the dogs. And few departments had the funds to cover the medical costs of a dog seriously injured on the job.

Johnson founded the nonprofit K9s United, which hosts a golf tournament and other fundraisers each year to properly provide for the needs of these dogs that have become integral to so many law enforcement agencies.

"Fang selflessly gave his life so our dear friend Officer Herrera could go home to his beautiful family, but Fang's attacker didn't get the sentence he deserved for brutally maiming and killing a police officer," Johnson said.

Johnson rallied thousands of people to the cause and, in May 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 96 that increased the penalty for killing a law enforcement canine in the line of duty from a second-degree felony to a third-degree felony.

The bill also tripled the maximum penalties from five years in state prison to 15 and raised the fine from $5,000 to $15,000.

In the process of lobbying on behalf of K9's United, Johnson found a like-minded K-9 advocate in Dr. Neil Shaw, co-founder of BluePearl Veterinary Partners in Tampa.

Concerned that the costs of advanced and emergency care had increased beyond the capability of many families to afford life-saving treatment for pets, Shaw started Frankie's Friends in 1999 to raise funds for medical care for pets who would otherwise suffer because their families couldn't afford the veterinary care they needed.

Shaw's efforts caught the attention of a Tampa dog lover who had recently lost his own beloved pet, a greyhound named Frankie. At the age of 8, Frankie was diagnosed with carciosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that Frankie's owner had struggled with twice before.

Prior to adopting Frankie, his owner had two great Danes, Cleo and Chloe, both of which were diagnosed with the same disease. They both died within a year after their diagnosis.

Frankie's owner consulted with some of the top veterinarians in the country and spared no expense in an attempt to save Frankie's life, something he could afford to do.

Frankie's owner happened to be Tampa philanthropist Edward DeBartolo Jr., who founded a successful Florida-based property development and investment firm and owned the San Francisco 49ers in the '80s and '90s when the team won five Super Bowls. His sister, Denise DeBartolo York, has since taken over ownership of the team.

As of Wednesday, Forbes magazine reported that DeBartolo is listed among the top 1,000 billionaires in the world (he's ranked 922) with a net worth of $3.1 billion.

Although veterinarians were forced to amputate one of Frankie's legs, the greyhound lived survived three more years, dying in 2007 at the age of 11.

That ability to spend three additional years with Frankie inspired DeBartolo to help those less fortunate provide medical care for their pets, and the charity was subsequently renamed in Frankie's honor.

Today's Frankie's Friends provides medical care to more than 1,700 pets across the country who might otherwise have been euthanized because their owners couldn't afford the veterinary services.

Inspired by Johnson, Frankie's Friends has also expanded its mission to include providing basic veterinary training to K-9 handlers through its K9 Heroes First Aid Course.

While all law enforcement officers receive training in CPR and first aid for humans, few are equipped with the knowledge to aid their K-9 partners, Shaw said.

In addition to the training, Frankie's Friends provides K-9 first aid kits to handlers, the same kind of kit that Bergman used to help save Indo's life on that night in 2010.

Indo went on to serve the Tampa Police Department for another eight years. In December 2018, the traditional law enforcement end-of-watch call was broadcast on police radios to Tampa police officers throughout the city.

"You can now relax, be a dog and lay on the couch," said the dispatcher as Indo sat in the back of Bergman's police cruiser for the last time. "On behalf of a grateful city, we would like to thank you for your dedicated service to the people of Tampa. Congratulations, K-9 Indo, on your retirement."

Like Jager, Indo spent his last years with his family, accompanying them on trips to Destin and Homosassa and, yes, spending some well-deserved time as a couch potato, before his death on Nov. 21.

How You Can Help

Frankie's Friends has allocated $80,000 for pets impacted by Hurricane Ian whose owners are in need of assistance to pay for emergency veterinary care.

Among them are two dogs named Nala and Simba.

Two days after Hurricane Ian, their family’s home in Orlando caught fire when the power came back on and burned down, taking the life of one of their pets and all of their possessions.

Nala and Simba were saved but suffered extreme smoke inhalation. They remain in care at an emergency veterinary clinic in Maitland. Simba and Nala's owners, a husband and wife, depend on Veterans Administration disability payments and are currently living out of their vehicle until they can collect the insurance money that will allow them to relocate.

Shaw said both pets have a good chance at a full recovery as long as they receive continued oxygen therapies, follow-up radiographs and generalized hospital monitoring.

Those thinking about donating to a worthy cause this holiday season are urged to consider giving to help pets affected by Hurricane Ian. Click here to help Nala and Simba.