Lebanon City retires K-9 Apollo from duty after 9 years, Lebo Foundation fills the gap

Mayor Sherry Capello, members of the Lebanon City Police Department and the William D. Lebo Memorial Foundation met at City Hall on Thursday morning to celebrate the retirement of K-9 Officer Apollo after nine years of service.

Working with Patrolman First Class Sean Buck, Apollo covered hundreds of shifts with only one incident resulting the K-9 having to bite a suspect during apprehension, Capello said.

Buck said that the decision to retire Apollo came not because of mental decline, but physical, as he began struggling to get in the back of the patrol car.

“The city commends officer Buck and K-9 Apollo for a successful and productive nine years in service together,” Capello said. “We wish Apollo many more years to relax, chew on bones or toys and chase after butterflies, not suspects.”

Capello gave Buck a plaque with Apollo’s paw print on it from when he initially joined the service and awarded Apollo with a bag of goodies, for all his good work.

Buck said that it had been a dream of his to work in the K-9 unit since he was in elementary school, and that the relationship between the two is stronger than he could have imagined.

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Apollo will be released to Buck, for him to keep as a family pet.

Lora Lebo presented the city with a $18,000 check on behalf of the William D. Lebo Memorial Foundation for the initial acquisition and training of the department’s replacement for Apollo.

The foundation seeks to honor Lt. William Lebo, who was killed in the line of duty earlier this year.

“The foundation was created this past April in memory of my husband, who was tragically killed in the line of duty on March 31, 2022,” Lebo said. “Through the generosity of the community, the foundation has been able to raise funds to begin the efforts to source a new K-9 officer to the city of Lebanon, who will step into the paw steps of Officer Apollo, loyally handled by Officer Buck.”

She continued by saying that the resources required to train a new K-9 officer are not small, but because of their ability to sniff out evidence, track missing people or fleeing suspects and enter dangerous or otherwise inaccessible areas, the benefits far outweigh the cost.

On New Year’s Eve, the foundation will hold an a fundraising gala with appetizers, refreshments and a DJ at Warehouse 435.

For more information on the William D. Lebo Memorial Foundation, visit ltwdlebo.org.

The donated funds will be used to train both the K-9 unit and the officer, who has yet to be chosen.

Acting Police Chief Bret Fisher said that the training takes three months and then two times a month for rest of the dog’s career.

Because Apollo was the only K-9 unit on the force, the department is looking to begin this process as soon as they can.

“The Lebanon City Police Department has had a K-9 unit for probably 22 years, this will be the first time where we’re down a K-9,” Fisher said. “So, we’re going to try to move forward the best we can, and we’ll see. It isn’t just if we have the availability, they might not have dogs available.”

Daniel Larlham Jr. is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at DLarlham@LDNews.com or on Twitter @djlarlham

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon City retires K-9 officer