05/30/2026
On May 30th, Deputy Morton and K9 Kreutz paid a visit to Lakeside. During their visit, Deputy Morton spoke about training and Kreutz’s abilities. Kreutz also demonstrated how he searches for narcotics and articles. After the demonstration, Deputy Morton and Kreutz paid a visit to Ohio based woodcarver James Mellick’s “Wounded Warrior Dog “ and “K9 War Stories” on display in Lakeside. The exhibits feature wooden carvings of Military working dogs along with their stories. The following story about “Remco” stuck out to Deputy Morton the most.
On July 9, 2009, Combat Assault Dog (CAD) Remco and his handler, Master Chief Mike Toussaint, deployed with Navy SEALs in Afghanistan. Their mission was to rescue captured US soldier Bowe Bergdahl.
During the mission, the decision to send Remco out to detect and engage the terrorists was made, Remco stopped and solemnly stared at Senior Chief Toussaint. According to Toussaint it was like Remco had the intuitive ability to know that he wasn't coming back. This was completely out of character and still haunts Toussaint today. Sadly during this K9 Remco was killed by gunfire. Toussaint described the event as "watching the most beautiful and horrific thing he had ever witnessed"- having his partner selflessly give his life so he, and countless others, could live. Not only did Toussiant receive a Silver Star, Remco also received the Silver Star posthumously, for sacrificing himself as he aggressively engaged the enemy drawing effective fire onto himself. This sacrifice gave K9 Remco’s teammates the split seconds needed to change the balance of the fight." K9 Remco was the first dog to receive the Silver Star since WWII.
This story is a reminder of the scarifies made by not only our men in women serving country, but also the canines serving along side them.
