BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – “Monty was my friend, buddy, and partner,” said Lt. Mashon, “I am going to miss him until we meet again.”
Those are the words of Lt. Brian Mashon who was the handler for K-9 Monty.
The K-9 officer died on Tuesday, July 5, after serving with the State Fire Marshal’s Office for eight years.
Images courtesy of State Fire Marshal’s Office
The golden Labrador started out as a guide dog for the visually impaired before joining the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
K-9 Monty joined the State Fire Marshal’s Office in 2012 and contributed to many arrests until leaving the organization in July of 2020.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office says that “some of his most notable cases included a suspicious fatal fire in St. Helena Parish, an intentionally set fire at an occupied apartment complex in Slidell where children had to be rescued and the 2019 St. Landry church fires where Monty’s skills led investigators to discover the gas can used in one of the fires, which helped identify the suspect, and eventually connected that suspect to all three fires.
K-9 Monty received a high honor in 2017 when the former guide dog won the ATF’s Top Dog award.
Prior to dying, K-9 Monty was found to have an extensive tumor.
The golden Labrador passed away at the age of 12.
“Monty was a special dog and contributed so much to the success of this agency, not only in crime-solving, but in our public education efforts, both of which saved lives,” said State Fire Marshal Chief Dan Wallis, “Monty will be greatly missed and always remembered for his stellar service to the people of Louisiana.”