Ohio city rejects desperate cop’s $10K offer to adopt long-time 'best friend' K-9 partner

A former K-9 officer is fighting to retire and adopt his longtime canine partner, but an Ohio city has refused as he is still “fit for duty”.

Officer Chad Hagan claims the city of Shaker Heights rejected his offer of $10,000 to take his furry friend Igor with him when he leaves the department purely out of “spite”.

Hagan and Igor have worked together for over five years, and have formed a deep familial bond, according to the officer's wife Danielle.

“He’s been with us through our first home, our forever home, marriage, having a baby. Been with us through everything,” she told Cleveland19.

“We’re his only family that he knows.”

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The saga was set in motion in September when Hagan informed his superiors out of respect that he would be looking for job opportunities that allowed him to be closer to his family, which he says the chief supported.

But though Hagan didn’t have a job opportunity at the time, Chief Wayne Hudson decided to take the German Shepherd away from his longtime handler so the K-9 could get used to working with a new officer, according to an online petition.

Hagan claims he pressed to adopt Igor instead but alleges that Hudson insinuated that he would approve the offer if the pair continued working in the city for a further two years.

Desperate to make Igor part of his family, Hagan argued that the six-and-a-half-year-old was nearing retirement and offered to buy him for $10,000 - way above the usual $1 price for a retired K-9 - but was turned down.

Hagan alleged: “This offer was denied, due to a clear act of spite.”

Chief Hudson said, ‘it [K9 Igor] is a tool and there is no financial amount that would be considered,'” the petition alleges.

However, Hagan claims Hudson allegedly gave him a sense of hope that his mind could be changed on the matter. But when Hagan handed in his resignation around Thanksgiving, he claims Hudson ruined the holiday by ordering him to return Igor to a facility.

“Igor is a six-year-old German Shepard and, if his health remains strong, he is expected to be fit for duty, keeping the residents of Shaker Heights safe, for another three or four years. He shows no signs of slowing down,” the city told Ceveland19 in a statement.

Officials insisted that neither Hudson nor Shaker Heights’ administration had the authority to sell the dog, considering his fitness levels. The Hagan family argued that the dog has slowed down in recent years, and estimate that he only has a year or two of law enforcement remaining.

Danielle also claims other nearby communities have allowed officers to buy canines even after four years for only $1.

“The Hagan family is the only family K-9 Igor has ever known and instead of being with Officer Hagan and his family for the remaining week and a half, he has been living in a boarding facility, laying on a 4×4 concrete pad because of the retaliation by Chief Hudson,” the petition states.

“The bond that Officer Hagan and K-9 Igor have is beyond what anyone could ever imagine. K-9 Igor has saved Officer Hagan’s life on multiple occasions.

“K-9 Igor is not a ‘tool.’ He is a beloved member of the Hagan family and Officer Hagan’s best friend. This is truly the worst heartbreak this family has ever been through.”