Bosco deserves support, respect, thanks

Bosco is a special dog.

The K-9 officer with the Zanesville Police Department is getting special care, too, from the doctors at Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital.

Bosco and his partner, Officer Mike Schiele, were shot Sunday evening in the line of duty. Schiele was shot once in the upper left leg and is recovering at home. Bosco was shot twice, once in the neck which shattered his spinal column and once in the chest. Initially paralyzed after the shooting, Bosco is making limited progress, and the next few weeks are critical.

The outpouring of support and offers to help Bosco over the past several days has been staggering. People are donating money for his medical bills, offering to care for him should he make it through this ordeal, and sending him cards and gifts to the hospital.

Yes, Bosco is special, but he’s so much more.

He’s Schiele’s friend, companion and partner, but he’s our dog, too. A little piece of Bosco belongs to each resident in this community. And a huge part of him belongs to the Armstrong family.

Bosco was purchased after Cpl. David Armstrong was killed Feb. 2, 2007, in Iraq. David’s family knew how important the K-9 units were in Iraq to the soldiers and how David dreamed of being a K-9 officer at a police department when he returned.
Through the Armstrongs’ efforts, David’s dream was realized when Bosco was purchased from community donations.

Bosco not only went through 800 hours of intense training in detecting narcotics and tracking suspects, but he also had an additional 80 hours of training just with Schiele.

Those hours not only bonded Schiele and Bosco for life, but Bosco has been bonded to the community for life.

Each year, the Armstrong family conducts a fundraiser for the K-9 unit, and the response is always amazing.

Bosco is not just a dog who rode in the back of a patrol car. He was, and still is, a great ambassador for the police department.

Bosco has gone into our schools, allowing the children to pet him and get to know him. Bosco, as the other K-9 units in the county and city, has been a valuable tool in letting children see the police are there to help, not just to arrest those breaking the law. If one of those children were lost, Bosco — with his unique tracking skills — would be leading the search party.

Bosco has attended a legion of community events, open houses and festivals, his tail always wagging as he greeted those coming and going.

Bosco is not paid, receives no benefits and asks for nothing from anyone. Yet he was willing to lay down his life to protect his partner.

Bosco has kept the dream of David’s alive for not just his family and fellow soldiers, but for our community.

For that, this special dog deserves our support, our respect and our thanks.

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