RIDGEFIELD, Conn. (WTNH) — A flag waved at half staff next to a draped black cloth at the Ridgefield Police Department, the place where a K-9 officer once worked. Zeus, who served the department for nine years, took a final, one-way ride in a squad car to Ridgefield Veterinary Hospital Wednesday.
Zeus retired from the department in 2014 because of a degenerative hip disorder and said his final goodbye Wednesday. He was wheeled through a row of police from all over the state with his partner, officer Shawn Murray, at his side every step of the way. Scott Murray, Shawn’s brother, says with Zeus’s passing they’ve lost a member of their family.
“He was in the yard when there were picnics,” said Scott. “He played, he chased the ball, he did what all normal dogs do, what all normal family dogs do, except he had a job.”
“This is an honor to be here for him during his last moments,” said Chief John Roche. “The disease that had racked him had deteriorated to such a point where it was just so difficult for him to exist and continue on.”
