Please Welcome K-9 O'nil!

We at Project K-9 Hero would like to welcome K-9 “O’nil,” from the North College Hill Police Department in Ohio, to the Pack, as our 272nd overall member.

K-9 O’nil is an eight-year-old male European Labrador Retriever that is trained in Narcotics Detection and Tracking. O’nil spent three years as a school resource officer where he became the face of the school and specialized in student interaction. O’nil began his shift at the elementary school in the special needs classroom, where he danced and played with the students on a daily basis. He routinely searched lockers, classrooms, and common areas of the school for contraband. K-9 O’nil was extremely successful with multiple illegal drug and handgun finds in the school, making it a safer environment for the students. O’nil spent an additional four plus years performing police patrol functions, and was involved in dozens of narcotics and firearms investigations. These finds led to multiple prosecutions at the local, state, and federal level. K-9 O’nil was deployed over 1000 times during his career.

In retirement, K-9 O’nil recently had surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his ear. During the prep for that surgery, his blood analysis came back with alarming results. An x-ray of the abdomen region showed that his spleen was inflamed and was leaking blood into the stomach area. The veterinary staff plans to let his ear heal for a few days, then immediately place K-9 O’nil into surgery to address the abdominal issue. This is an extremely complicated surgery requiring blood transfusion, and specialization with the veterinary staff. The estimate for this procedure is between $10,000 and $15,000. This cost is an extreme financial burden for any retired first responder to inherit with such short notice for their loyal K-9 partner who is no longer covered by the agency they served.

We are honored to place K-9 O’nil into Project K-9 Hero today, and now be taking care of him for the remainder of his life financially, so he can spend his well deserved retirement with his handler and family. This includes paying for his upcoming surgery at 100% as well as any follow up costs, medications, rehabilitation, and office visits with no limits!

Thank you K-9 O’nil for your dedicated service and protection to the State of Ohio, the communities you have served in, and the United States of America. Welcome to the PK9HERO Pack!