Johns Creek Police, Community Mourning Death Of K9 Nico

JOHNS CREEK, GA — A former Johns Creek Police K9, Nico, has died from kidney failure leaving the community mourning.

Office George Hodge was Nico's handler with the department for eight years prior to Nico's retirement. He wrote a letter about the K9 that the department posted online.

Nico was a Czech German Shepherd, originally from the Czech Republic, who came to the United States, and the Johns Creek Police Department, via Jeff Franklin at Cobra Canine, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Hodge wrote.

Nico was 2-years-old when he and Hodge were partnered together, and were inaugural members of the Johns Creek Police K9 Unit.

"K9 Nico and I hit the streets of Johns Creek together in April 2009, and worked with the B Squad Day Watch for the majority of our time together, before moving to the Johns Creek Police Traffic Unit in 2016," Hodge wrote. "K9 Nico was a dual-purpose dog trained in multiple disciplines, he was an extremely high drive dog, and he loved to work, and excelled at tracking, and narcotics detection."

During his time in service, Nico was responsible for multiple criminal apprehensions, as well as multiple narcotics and large cash finds for the Johns Creek Police, as well as other jurisdictions which called for K9 service, Hodge wrote.

"K9 Nico was also responsible for successful tracks on missing persons, who had either wandered off or ran away by choice," he wrote. "K9 Nico’s first apprehension came on a deployment for the Alpharetta Police Department, where he successfully tracked and located a felony shoplifting suspect who had assaulted a store employee and then fled on foot and hid in a wooded area. That was a great moment for a first-time handler and his dog. From that very first deployment to his very last, K9 Nico always maintained that drive, and I took great pride in his work and loved having him as my partner."

When not working, Nico was a member of the family and had his own space in Hodge's home.

"He was a great protector of the home, and my two sons, who often enjoyed playing with him," Hodge wrote. "K9 Nico had a great disposition, he was highly social and enjoyed human interaction, which made performing demos with him, especially at schools, very easy, and he made lots of children happy during his years of service. People were often surprised to see the lovable K9 flip that switch and go into patrol mode when on command, he was just an awesome dog/partner."

In May 2017, Hodge had to make the decision to retire K9 Nico from service, which he said wasn’t easy, but he knew it was what was best for Nico. On June 1, 2017, K9 Nico was officially retired.

"This was not an easy transition for Nico, especially when a new dog was thrown into the mix, as Nico never lost his drive or want to go to work with me every day," Hodge said.

Sadly, Nico’s health began to deteriorate in retirement, some of which was attributed to the physical toll his working years had on his body. In his latter days, Nico had arthritic hips and joints which severely hampered his mobility, and he was also diagnosed with kidney failure.

"Sadly, the kidney failure progressed and caused additional issues, which led to K9 Nico passing away during the evening of Oct. 28," Hodge said. "K9 Nico passed peacefully in his sleep, he was 12-years-old. He was the best first K9 partner I ever could’ve asked for, and he will be greatly missed."