Millville Police K-9 Rio Dies After Six Years of Service

Condolences to Millville Police officer John Butschky on the passing of his partner Rio, who died last Thursday of degenerative myelopathy, a neurological condition that destroys the spinal cord.

Rio was a Millville Police K-9 and Officer Butschky's partner for six years. The officer knew something was wrong with his friend Rio last year, according to his comments in the Daily Journal.

 “We were doing a demo in May and he fell over. “You know him, he’s been a ball of fire his whole life. Unfortunately, it moved very fast with him, he just turned 8”

Last week, K-9 Rio took a particularly bad turn and Butschky said he could not let his partner suffer. “I owe that to him, he’s done so much.”

When Rio arrived at the Animal Clinic of Millville, his Millville Police colleagues as well as other area K-9 teams lined up to pay their respects. The show of support was something Butschky said was much appreciated.

Memorial donations in Rio’s name made to the Capital K-9 Association, P.O. Box 8762, Trenton, NJ. 08650, where the funds will be used to purchase safety equipment for area police dogs.
Source: Vineland Daily Journal