This article won first place for the photo gallery, second place in feature photo and third place for the article itself in the 2022 Michigan Interscholastic Press Association spring awards ceremony.
**Author’s note:
*When I was a sophomore, I wrote an article featuring Deputy Krystal Stuart for Women’s History Month. I became interested in writing about her after learning that she was the only female K-9 handler in Kent County. At the time, her dog Axel was hardly a year old, and had more strength and energy than he knew what to do with.
On August 28th, Axel suffered a sudden medical injury while pursuing a suspect in Sparta Township. He was rushed to the animal hospital where he unfortunately passed away.*
On Saturday, September 18th, the Cedar Springs High School football stadium was dressed in stars and stripes. Kent County police cars lined the driveway, and an immense American flag hung from the crane arm of a firetruck in front of the entry tunnel.
It was a funeral fit for a king, but this one was for a dog.
The stands were abuzz with hushed greetings and sad smiles. It was clear that all in attendance were deeply intertwined friends and family of local law enforcement. They were the type of people who embodied the meaning of community.
Once everyone had settled in, Deputy Krystal Stuart emerged from the south gate, holding a wooden box containing the ashes of her dear friend. She was succeeded by over a dozen German Shepherds and their handlers. Stuart took her place next to her husband and two children, and the yelping, whining dogs gathered in three neat rows on the track before the erected stage.
After some introductory statements were made, Stuart took the podium.
She started by rewinding a few years to introduce her complicated relationship with her dog. Axel was not actually her first choice when it came to selecting a companion because he was “a bull in a china shop.” She was worried that his powerful body combined with his excitable personality wouldn’t pair well with her small frame and calm approach.
By a twist of fate, Axel became her K-9 anyway. The beginning of their training journey was not pretty.
“[After he bit me for the first time], I felt over the whole canine thing to the point where Captain Johnson and Lieutenant Lyons called me in and asked what I was thinking,” Stuart said. “That was the turning point in our [Stuart and Axel’s] career. I wasn’t going to give up on that dog because I knew he wasn’t going to give up on me.”
She later learned that being bit by your dog was somewhat of a rite of passage in the life of a K-9 handler. The response is more of an expression of frustration from the dog than anything, which shows passion. Uncontrolled passion, but passion nonetheless, and that was something that Axel and Stuart shared.
“In the spring of 2021, we finally hit our two year mark, and it was like a lightbulb had turned on. He trusted me and I trusted him,” Stuart said.
Axel became somewhat of a “rockstar” in the Kent County Sheriff’s Office. He was a handsome, good-natured dog who excelled in suspect tracking and finding explosives. He made Stuart proud.
He also made her seven-year-old daughter simply ecstatic (when he wasn’t eating her socks).
“My daughter loved to help move his detection boxes and lay tracks for him,” Stuart said. “I asked her what she liked about Axel after he had passed, and her reply was that ‘he was cute and funny, and even though he was bad sometimes I still loved him. I always knew he was there for me when I was scared.’”
After her speech, a folded memorial flag was presented to Stuart. The stadium seemed to hold a collective breath as the officers stood at attention to bid K-9 Axel a final farewell.
Over the loudspeakers, a recording of Axel’s radio death announcement played:
“This is the final call for Kent County K9-11, Axel,
who valiantly served the Department until his final
watch on August 28, 2021 while leading the search
for an armed home invasion suspect.
Axel began his journey on February 18, 2018 in the
Netherlands where he followed his dream of
becoming a police K9 to the States. He attended the
academy at Vohne Liche Kennels in Indiana where
he met his future partner and best friend, Deputy
Krystal Stuart. While there were bumpy times, Axel
finally figured out that he wasn’t the boss, but more
of the brawn in their relationship. On July 17, 2019,
on his first track for Kent County, Axel caught his
first bad guy and the rest is history.
Axel, as you look down from the other side of the
rainbow bridge, we know you will continue to stand
watch over your human family who loved you, your
fellow K9s, and your brothers and sisters in blue.
We will never forget your service to the citizens of
Kent County. Enjoy your heaven good boy, we will
Take it from here.”
Click the image above to view a photo gallery of Axel’s memorial service.
