For those who are unaware, I want to inform you of the death of retired K-9 Officer Draven. K-9 Draven retired in July 2006 after over 8 years of service to the department and community. On Monday last week Draven suffered a Gastric Torsion (His stomach flipped), this causes rapid and extreme bloating in the abdomen. I caught it rapidly and was able to get him to the vet where they performed emergency surgery on him. For those who knew Draven well, knew that he was a fighter and did not give up, although only 1% of dogs survive this type of surgery, Draven pulled through it. This was not an easy process though, the doctors had to remove his spleen in the process and give him a blood transfusion. After the surgery I was given a recovery diagnosis of 25%-50%. Draven spent the next few days attempting to recover from the surgery, however his stomach and internal organs were not able to recover from the shock of the incident and on Friday 06-06-08 in the early afternoon Draven went into multi-systems failure. Several of us spent the afternoon with Draven, as long as we could, and at 1715 hours I made the difficult decision to end Draven's final battle. He lived as a warrior and died in the same manner. For those who knew last week, I can never repay you for you concern, thoughts and prayers through this whole ordeal. I shall spend a lifetime attempting to find a way to thank you.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sgt. Erik J. McKee
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A decorated Newark police dog died last week, according to a press release. With his career partner Sgt. Eric McKee by his side, Draven died Friday afternoon from multiple organ failure brought on by gastric torsion, the release states. A Malinois born in the Netherlands, Draven began training with McKee in 1998 and served until his retirement in July 2006. One year into his career, Draven placed fifth in the nation in narcotics detection at the 1999 U.S. Police Canine Association's National Field Trials. Along with two other Newark police dogs, Draven was awarded fourth place overall in the departmental team event. Erik is now a Sgt. and is still the departmental trainer and K-9 Unit supervisor
Respectfully Submitted,
Sgt. Erik J. McKee
**********************************
A decorated Newark police dog died last week, according to a press release. With his career partner Sgt. Eric McKee by his side, Draven died Friday afternoon from multiple organ failure brought on by gastric torsion, the release states. A Malinois born in the Netherlands, Draven began training with McKee in 1998 and served until his retirement in July 2006. One year into his career, Draven placed fifth in the nation in narcotics detection at the 1999 U.S. Police Canine Association's National Field Trials. Along with two other Newark police dogs, Draven was awarded fourth place overall in the departmental team event. Erik is now a Sgt. and is still the departmental trainer and K-9 Unit supervisor
For those who are unaware, I want to inform you of the death of retired K-9 Officer Draven. K-9 Draven retired in July 2006 after over 8 years of service to the department and community. On Monday last week Draven suffered a Gastric Torsion (His stomach flipped), this causes rapid and extreme bloating in the abdomen. I caught it rapidly and was able to get him to the vet where they performed emergency surgery on him. For those who knew Draven well, knew that he was a fighter and did not give up, although only 1% of dogs survive this type of surgery, Draven pulled through it. This was not an easy process though, the doctors had to remove his spleen in the process and give him a blood transfusion. After the surgery I was given a recovery diagnosis of 25%-50%. Draven spent the next few days attempting to recover from the surgery, however his stomach and internal organs were not able to recover from the shock of the incident and on Friday 06-06-08 in the early afternoon Draven went into multi-systems failure. Several of us spent the afternoon with Draven, as long as we could, and at 1715 hours I made the difficult decision to end Draven's final battle. He lived as a warrior and died in the same manner. For those who knew last week, I can never repay you for you concern, thoughts and prayers through this whole ordeal. I shall spend a lifetime attempting to find a way to thank you.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sgt. Erik J. McKee
**********************************
A decorated Newark police dog died last week, according to a press release. With his career partner Sgt. Eric McKee by his side, Draven died Friday afternoon from multiple organ failure brought on by gastric torsion, the release states. A Malinois born in the Netherlands, Draven began training with McKee in 1998 and served until his retirement in July 2006. One year into his career, Draven placed fifth in the nation in narcotics detection at the 1999 U.S. Police Canine Association's National Field Trials. Along with two other Newark police dogs, Draven was awarded fourth place overall in the departmental team event. Erik is now a Sgt. and is still the departmental trainer and K-9 Unit supervisor
Respectfully Submitted,
Sgt. Erik J. McKee
**********************************
A decorated Newark police dog died last week, according to a press release. With his career partner Sgt. Eric McKee by his side, Draven died Friday afternoon from multiple organ failure brought on by gastric torsion, the release states. A Malinois born in the Netherlands, Draven began training with McKee in 1998 and served until his retirement in July 2006. One year into his career, Draven placed fifth in the nation in narcotics detection at the 1999 U.S. Police Canine Association's National Field Trials. Along with two other Newark police dogs, Draven was awarded fourth place overall in the departmental team event. Erik is now a Sgt. and is still the departmental trainer and K-9 Unit supervisor
