The Jacksonville Citizen’s Police Alumni Association knows that many local residents like to eat lots of pork and dislike having lots of drugs on our city streets.
It was announced publicly on Monday that the Jacksonville Police Department’s current K9 dog, the 8-year-old Belgian Malinois known affectionately as Bo, will be retiring in November.
Jacksonville Police Chief Adam Mefford says Bo will be dearly missed.
“Bo has been an amazing asset, both in the fight against drugs and crime and as a community policing. A lot of local citizens, especially the children, like to see Bo and the demonstrations and programs that he and his handler put on. Just like people, dogs get older, and certain aspects of health begin to deteriorate. We wanted to provide Bo a long span of retirement to rest because he has been such an asset to the department and the community. We consulted with Bo’s vet and decided that we would not renew Bo’s certifications this year.”
In light of the announcement of Bo’s retirement, the CPAA is partnering with Faith Tabernacle Church of Jacksonville to sponsor a “Rib-Tacular” fundraiser in the hopes of beginning to save money for the purchase of a new K9 dog in the near future.
Tom Cisne is the President of the Alumni Association. Cisne says that a fellow Citizen’s Police Academy alumnus is revamping a community favorite food in support of this fundraiser.
“Roger Davis, the pastor at Faith Tabernacle Church over on Sandusky, also used to own Luau Grill and BBQ. The church has a kitchen, and Roger will do catering and other cooking every once in a while. We’ll be buying racks of ribs and cooking them, then selling the cooked rib racks at 25 dollars a piece. Our ticket sales end this Friday, so hurry if you want to get your ticket or tickets.”
Cisne describes seeing Bo and Patrolman Cleveland’s tactics.
“As members of the Citizen’s Police Alumni, we are allowed to ride along with officers, but we are not allowed to ride along with the K9 officers. That being said, I’ve seen Bo in action, in his element, and he has simply been impressive. I just hope the next dog will live up to the standard that Bo has set.”
Faith Tabernacle Church is located at 571 Sandusky Street, northeast of Duncan Park. Those interested in purchasing a $25 rack of Luau Grill ribs can call Tom Cisne at 217-371-6670. The deadline to purchase a ticket is this Friday, and racks of ribs will be available from 9 to 6 next Friday the 31st.
The official retirement date for Bo, according to Chief Mefford, will be November 17th, which is the day his current certifications expire. The JPD and the CPAA are working together right now to schedule a retirement ceremony, but a specific date has not been set as of this time.