From left, K-9 Drake and deputy Jason Beichner and K-9 Link with deputy Chad Wright. Canine handlers with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office offered condolences to the Conewango Police Department in Warren County after the death of K-9 Choper in a training accident late Wednesday. Pictured are Beichner and K-9 Link. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

The loss of K-9 Choper as the result of a training exercise this week was felt beyond Warren County.

Chad Wright, a deputy with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and handler for K-9 Link, said he stopped his patrol car around 3 a.m. Thursday when told of the K-9’s death earlier that morning in Warren, Pa. Wright said he never met the 5-year-old German shepherd or his handler, Officer Scott Neiswonger of the Conewango Township Police Department, but likens the loss of a service dog to losing a child.

“When I first heard about it I was on patrol,” Wright told The Post-Journal. “I stopped what I was doing and went on a very long walk with (K-9 Link), just me and him. It’s what we do and it’s that bond that we have.”

Wright said he understands some may not view the partnership between officers and their dogs the same as a child and their parents. However, he noted that K-9s and their handlers spend most of their time together, whether on patrol or at home.

“I would just hope that people understand the amount of work and training that goes into these animals,” Wright said.

Choper was honored Thursday morning at the Warren County Courthouse. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff throughout the county in recognition of the dog’s line-of-duty death.

The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office employs four handlers within the K-9 Unit. Two of the dogs — K-9 Drake and K-9 Drago — are taken care of by Deputy Jason Beichner, senior canine handler with the Sheriff’s Office. He said hearing news of K-9 Choper’s death Thursday hit close to home.

“(Choper’s death) definitely greatly affects us,” Beichner said. “It’s a tragic situation.”

He said knowing Choper has passed brings home how quickly things can end with a canine partner. Beichner knows these dogs are like family, not just to him but to the multitude of officers who take the canines home after a long work day.

K-9 Drake is dual-certified by New York state in patrol and the detection of narcotics.

Working with the dogs is quite the commitment, with about 20 weeks of initial training required and eight hours per week of on-duty training as well as off-duty training needed. “We train to what we’re going to experience in the field,” Beichner said.

In an effort to prepare K-9s, training is made as realistic as possible, whether it be for explosives detection or searching for a suspect. Beichner said there is always an inherent risk in those activities, and officers try to make training as safe as possible for the dogs.

K-9 Drago was injured during training, though but not because of the severity of the work. Drago had a weak genetic disposition that led to him breaking his leg during training. His leg was amputated, but otherwise is back on duty detecting explosives and other weaponry such as guns and bullets.

“He’s able to maintain himself,” Beichner said. That being said, the deputy adds that the aftermath of Drago’s injury “was an extremely depressing and hard time.”

Beichner said that these kinds of dogs are so self-reliant that it’s very tough to see them go through something like the life change of losing a limb.

Both Drake and Drago live at home with Beichner and his family, and as such, the canines are “backup that you can count on.”

“It’s quite an honor to have them and very much a privilege,” Beichner said. “It’s the kind of relationship that can’t be formed between people.”

Meanwhile, the Jamestown Police Department has K-9 Mitchell, who in November 2016 received statewide recognition after being injured while helping to apprehend a murder suspect. The incident was the catalyst for Mitchell’s Law, a bill proposed by State Sen. Cathy Young that would make it a class E felony to injure a police animal in the line of duty. The bill stalled last year, though it’s currently advancing through the Senate again.

Eric Tichy contributed to this story.