Johnson County deputy says goodbye to K-9 officer

IOWA CITY — Back in 2004, Johnson County Sheriff's Officer Chris Langenberg responded with his partner, Lazer, to a residence where a subject had barricaded himself in the basement after an assault.

A negotiator stood at the top of the stairs and asked Langenberg and Lazer to keep watch for a few minutes. The subject called up the stairs and introduced himself. Lazer barked. At that moment, the man in the basement changed his tone.

'He said, 'I don't want anything to do with that dog. I'm coming out,'' Langenberg recalls with a smile. 'At that point, Lazer became the new negotiator.'

For 12 years beginning in June 2003, Langenberg and Lazer — a Belgian Malinois trained at Sentry K-9 in Lincolnton, North Carolina — patrolled Johnson County together. Over the years, the pair compiled a resume so impressive that a former county attorney used to submit it as evidence in cases. More importantly, they forged a relationship that went beyond being mere companions or partners.

'It's a father-son relationship,' Langenberg said. 'Very much so.'

On Monday, less than one year after easing Lazer into a retirement and a week after the dog suffered an episode that left him unable to walk, Langenberg was forced to put his old partner to sleep.

'It's like losing a child,' he said.

On Thursday, Langenberg sat down at the Johnson County Sheriff's Office to reflect not only on Lazer's career, but the impact the dog had on him and his family.

The sheriff's office already had a K-9, Turbo, when Langenberg first approached then-Sheriff Bob Carpenter about adding a second dog to the department. Langenberg was 'young and aggressive' and had seen numerous cases where another dog would have been useful. Carpenter initially said no, but changed his mind a month later and sent Langenberg to training in North Carolina. Lazer was picked for him at random, he said.

The pair spent their first year on patrol together figuring each other out.

'In all honesty, you start working on that bond right away,' Langenberg said. 'It takes about a year for the dog and handler to become a good, cohesive unit.'

But once that bond was formed, it was unbreakable. Lazer went with Langenberg everywhere he went, whether he was working or not. The dog's demeanor was predicated on what Langenberg was wearing — his uniform, training gear or regular civilian clothes.

'I would always tell people I knew what Lazer was going to do before he did it,' he said. 'Conversely, there were times I think he knew what I was thinking.'

And, unlike some K-9 officers, Lazer slept inside. He was part of the family. For Langenberg's two young daughters, the only life they know is with Lazer.

'He was their ultimate protector,' he said.

Over the course of Lazer's career, he was the recipient of numerous awards from the United States Police Canine Association. Among the pair's accomplishments:

-- Aided in the arrest and prosecution of Roger Bentley for the abduction, sexual assault and murder of 10-year-old Jetseta Gage in 2005 by helping to find the body in a trailer in rural Johnson County.

-- Assisted police in Washington County in tracking a bank robber through a cornfield.

-- A traffic stop on Interstate 80 led to the discovery of $372,000 in cash in a hidden compartment. The driver was later tied to a drug trafficking organization.

-- Helped the state patrol find 420 pounds of marijuana in a semi.

-- Tracked a burglary suspect for 5.2 miles after a break-in in Swisher.

But for Langenberg, it was the cases that didn't have all the notoriety he remembers the most.

'The thing I took the most pride in were the successful tracks,' he said.

He recalls a time when he and Lazer recovered a gun in a ditch after a drug deal gone bad in Coralville turned into a robbery and pursuit. The gun was determined to be stolen and was also connected to a shots fired call in Cedar Rapids. Without the weapon, which officers were certain wouldn't be recovered, police couldn't have made a case in the robbery, Langenberg said.

'We were able to tie everything together,' he said.

For Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek, the most remarkable thing about Lazer's career was his longevity.

'He worked for 12 years,' he said. 'That's the high-end … Lazer was highly, highly effective at what he did.'

Langenberg smiles and says that Lazer was 'spoiled' and credits that for his long life and career. He slept indoors, ran with Langenberg and had good veterinary care.

'He loved life,' he said. 'He never worked a day in his life because we made training fun.'

Age started to catch up with Lazer in 2014 and Langenberg decided it was best to let the dog retire. His last day was May 1, 2015.

'I was lonely,' Langenberg remembers about going out on patrol without his partner.

After Lazer's retirement, Langenberg made the commitment that he wouldn't put the dog down unless it was absolutely necessary.

'If he can still get around, if his mind is still there, if his heart is still there, we want to keep him around as long as we can,' he said.

Last week, however, Lazer lost mobility after a trip to the vet, and Langenberg made the 'extremely difficult' decision to say goodbye to his partner.

'I wasn't sleeping,' he said. 'I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat … This dog is such a big part of, not only my career, but my family. I'm not one to cry at funerals. I've cried over this dog a lot over the last week and so has my family.'

Lazer was quietly put to sleep on Monday. That day, Pulkrabek posted a memorial video of the dog. So far, it has amassed more than 66,000 views on Facebook.

Back at home, the Langenberg family has made a memorial for Lazer, as well. They placed a blanket from Langenberg's daughters on Lazer's old bed, along with his cremated remains, photos, his work collar and badge.

'I couldn't have asked for a better partner,' Langenberg said.