In today’s news special edition, we want to give recognition to the K9 Division of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, and to K9 Ruger and his handler Wayne Wilhoit.
The recognition was inspired after a resolution was approved at the Greene County Budget and Finance meeting for K9 training. Committee member and County Commissioner Robin Quillen praised the K9 Division for the amazing work that is performed by their dogs. She also wanted to give credit to Ruger and Wilhoit.
Most recently K9 Ruger and his handler Wilhoit were praised for assisting Carter County in an investigation to find a missing person. In May of this year Ruger located a deceased body that was buried on a 17-acre property. The victim was reportedly stored in a freezer and was about five feet below the ground.
Quillen also highlighted Ruger’s work in 2021 when he helped recover a body from the Nolichucky River at the David Crockett State Park. Chief Deputy David Beverly recalls the night in June of 2021. He said he and other law enforcement as well as divers had a meeting and discussed shutting down the river in the morning so divers could perform a search safely. But at that point they hadn’t used every single resource. Wayne Wilhoit and his dog Ruger were their last hope.
It was Ruger’s first time on a boat so Wilhoit wasn’t sure how he’d perform, but Chief Beverly got a call and learned Ruger sure did succeed with his assistance to find the missing body. He explained how K9 Ruger alerted in an area near the riverbank.
According to Quillen, during a search the body was located hung up behind a stump. Due to Ruger’s training, in the dark and with the river currents, he was able to detect the deceased bodies scent. It was a 19-year-old male that drowned while he was swimming earlier that afternoon.
It’s evident and a fact that it’s not just humans that are heroes, animals are too. The K9’s are constantly out trying their best to help catch suspects, they help keep drugs and bad guys off the streets, and they are trained to assist agencies in investigations. It’s their life purpose to help and protect us. The K9 Division is killing it and the proof is in the pudding!
It’s not just Ruger putting in work, so are the other active K9’s like K9 Narco, K9 Diesel, and the newest addition K9 Koa. Chief Deputy Beverly said Koa replaced K9 Cezar once he retired earlier this year in January. Other K9’s include Boomer and Loki. K9 Sig unfortunately passed away.
K9 Narco was awarded earlier this year in the Annual Paws in Blue fundraiser event. He won 1st in Fastest Dog, 1st in Article Search, 1st in Hardest Bite, 3rd in Recall, and for the second year in a row Top Dog! Way to go Narco!
