IRMO, S.C. — The Richland County Sheriff's Department (RCSD) has laid to rest one of their own. Two weeks ago, K-9 Wick was killed in the line of duty while chasing a suspect on I-77.
“I knew that any time I opened up that kennel, anytime I opened up that door, he was ready to work,” Richland County K-9 Specialist Zaid Abdullah said.
Abdullah spent the last year and a half alongside K-9 Wick, the three year old Belgian malinois who lost his life in the line of duty.
“He was such a focused and quiet dog, that’s something that I’m just never going to forget about him,” Abdullah said.
RCSD says they began to pursue a vehicle that was stolen on June 19th. The chase began in the early hours of June 20th. After failing to stop, deputies chased the suspect, 44 year-old, Thomas Taylor, onto I-77. After deploying stop sticks, Taylor took off running. Abdullah ran after him with Wick by his side, but his leash broke. Wick continued to chase after Taylor when he was struck by a car and killed instantly.
“These are special dogs because they put that body armor on, they put that badge on, they go out and work and they're willing to give their lives for citizens of Richland county, and Wick did that. That makes these dogs so special. They're not just a dog, or a part of the sheriff's department family. They are just the same as the deputy, a human deputy,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said.
On July 2nd, Taylor was arrested. He’s been charged with burglary, grand larceny and failure to stop for blue lights.
According to the sheriff's department, Wick was an all purpose dog, meaning he was good at multiple tasks - tracking, sniffing for narcotics and was even featured on TV for his ability to find suspects.
And while everyone keeps telling Abdullah that Wick is in heaven, his handler says, that’s actually not quite true. Abdullah says Wick is waiting, just outside.
"He wasn't the best at jumping fences. I know that goober is sitting right outside those gates, waiting for his daddy to cross over into that plane with him and to jump over those pearly gates first, as I always did, and then he would bounce over after me. I love you Wick and I'll see you soon buddy,” Abdullah said.
According to the sheriff's department, K-9 Specialist Abdullah didn't want an empty kennel. He’s started to train 18 month old Jet who will be joining him on November 1st.