Former officer adopts K-9 partner after ‘custody battle’ following his resignation
LANSING, Mich. (WILX/Gray News) - A former police officer in Michigan has been reunited with his best friend, the K-9 officer who was his partner before he resigned, after the two were separated for weeks.
K-9 Tamarack is a service dog that previously trained with the City of Mason, but when her handler, Hayden Wildfong, resigned from the Mason Police Department in January, the city wanted to keep the dog, WILX reports.
Wildfong resigned after an incident at Mason High School, where the former officer took off his gun belt while exercising in front of students. The city says the weapon was left unattended, and Wildfong was placed on leave. He said he later resigned against his wishes and that he only did so because he was under the impression he would be able to take Tamarack with him.
While there was public backing for Wildfong to keep Tamarack, the city said the former officer’s actions didn’t leave him entitled to the dog.
The decision of where Tamarack would go was in limbo for weeks, but the Ingham County Animal Shelter said Tuesday that the K-9 was surrendered to them. The shelter later announced on social media that it received an adoption application from Wildfong, and the two would soon be reunited.
Ahead of the Wednesday reunion, workers at the shelter said Tamarack had been anxiously waiting for Wildfong to walk through the doors.
When he finally arrived, seeing them together was priceless. As soon as she spotted Wildfong, Tamarack ran to him, pulling on her leash and causing the shelter worker to drop it. Her tail was wagging the whole time.
“This is one of the best feelings in the world, one of the best days of my life. I’ve put in countless hours of work with this dog, and we can finally close this chapter and move on,” Wildfong said.
He added it feels like a huge weight has been taken off his shoulders.
“We’re gonna go home, and we’re gonna play Frisbee until the sun comes up in the morning, probably,” he said.
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