‘Police dogs aren’t pets’: Tragic impact of Police Dog Rambo’s death
A senior Detective has detailed the depth of devastation felt by the handler of Police Dog Rambo, who died while hunting a fugitive on the Fraser Coast.
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The true impact of the tragic loss of a police dog on active duty has been shared by one of the Fraser Coast’s top police officers.
He was struck by a vehicle and rushed to the vets, but sadly died of his injuries.
Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford said Rambo’s handler, Sergeant Ian Grigoris, had been left devastated by the loss of his dog which he likened to the loss of a human partner.
He thanked the public for the messages of condolences sent in the wake of Rambo’s death.
“It has been a very tragic event,” Det Insp Pettiford said.
“With police dogs and their handlers, they aren’t pets, police dogs aren’t pets.
“They’re like a partner and they rely upon each other in everything they do.
“They become basically one.
“So when a police dog handler loses a police dog in these sort of circumstances, it’s absolutely devastating.”
Det Insp Pettiford said he had informed Sgt Grigoris of the Lace arrest on Tuesday.
He said Sgt Grigoris would be back on duty soon and would hopefully have a new police dog to work with.
“But it is a big loss for us as police, not just the amount of financial cost of losing a police dog, but … it’s like losing a member of the family, it’s like losing a human partner that you work with, because in the middle of the night, they are out there, just the two of them by themselves most of the time.”
Det Insp Pettiford said it was moving that the community had put its support behind a memorial for Rambo, which had been supported at a recent council meeting.
He said it was something the police force would also like to see happen.
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