An Officer, The K9, And Me

Chapter 3

JACK

The rain seemed to come out of nowhere as Jack drove. It wasn't a light rain either. Heavy droplets of water continued to beat down on the windshield combining with the whines of Easton in the back compartment of his patrol car.

They say dogs have a better intuition than people. Than most people. Jack never doubted that very statement since getting Easton. He always knew exactly what was going on around him, sometimes even better than Jack, most times.

Two years ago, when Jack was six months fresh out of the police academy, Easton was six months old himself. The second Jack saw his big, brown eyes, he knew. He was the one. The only one who Jack would want by his side. Seeing how Easton didn't like to be alone, Jack would bring him to work with me. After about three days of having him running around the substation and wanting to go on ride-along after ride-along with the other police officers, it made sense to put him through official K-9 training.

Easton's training took about six months to complete and to say he was a natural would be an understatement. Every obstacle course and staged situation, Easton showed impressive showmanship and his bond with Jack only grew stronger.

By the time, the training was complete, Easton was no longer a puppy. He was a full grown dog.

Soon, he was sworn in as an official police dog of the Cherished County Sheriff's Office along with Jack under his protection. They both received new bulletproof vests with the name Sheriff's K-9 written across the front. Jack even received a new police cruiser, one equipped to hold an officer and a K-9.

One thing led to another and they were practically inseparable. Man and dog. Absolutely nothing were going to break apart the two best friends.

Which brings us to present day. Jack drove down the street, the heavy rain and Easton's whines filling the air while the "fill gas meter" lit up on the dash.

Pulling to a stop at a red light, Jack reached back and unlatched the door, opening up the compartment Easton was held in. Immediately poking his head through, Jack was soon bombarded with licks and hot dog breath from his excitable and rambunctious K-9.

Jack scratched the top of Easton's head, his hand fluffing the dark fur.

"Foos!" Jack spoke sternly. 'Foos' meaning 'heel' in German. Easton immediately sat down and calmed. Jack looked at him and smiled, "good boy," which was met by a bark from Easton.

Taking the next left, Jack pulled into the nearest gas station and stopped his cruiser at one of the pumps.

Easton stood up to attention with two paws resting on the center console as Jack opened his door. Within seconds, the dog bolted for the door, like a bullet coming out of a gun, Easton jumped out of the patrol car and ran towards the side of the decrepit building.

"Shit!" Jack yelled, hurriedly getting out of the car. "Easton! Get back here!"

Jack had the strongest urge to go after his K-9 and he was just about to when he stopped short when he realized the rain was still coming down quite substantially.

Shit.

"Easton!" Jack called out for his K-9 but to no avail.

It wouldn't be a problem if Jack was wearing casual clothes. He could easily run around to the side of the building, following the dog through the rain but seeing how he was still in his police uniform, he knew he couldn't get wet.

Whenever on duty, by all means, don't get wet!

Jack can still hear the tyrannical rants of his advisors and every word of every sentence that they hammered into him back when he was in the academy.