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Jada --a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois-- suffered a medical episode while on duty Wednesday night, the department said. She died at Newton Animal Hospital shortly after.
“What words do I use, what is it that I’m searching for to say?” Officer Christopher Laver wrote on social media. “Heartbroken? Devastated? Numb?”
Laver's interest in K9 officers began when he was learned about military working dogs during his 2005 overseas deployment, he said.
“I knew K9 was my calling,” he writes.
After campaigning for a position as a K9 handler for several years, Laver’s career brought him to Hackettstown, where he says he had the “crazy idea” to get a puppy from a bloodline of working dogs bred by a retired K9 handler.
Laver said that despite having his pick of the litter, his eyes were set on Jada from the start, and she immediately became a member of the family.
Laver then presented the idea of a K9 unit to Chief Jim Macaulay, and after tryouts and presentations, it was official: he and Jada were paired as the department’s first K9 team.
“We have so many memories together,” Laver writes. “I truly enjoyed having you by my side. We drove each other nuts as we spent those long hours together in the car but I know we loved each other. Jada was my rock.”
Laver, who says his family was “just as dedicated as he was” to Jada’s K9 calling, says he hasn’t stopped crying since the unexpected and tragic loss.
“I miss her so much,” he writes. “I want her back. I would do anything to spend another minute with her.”
Laver concludes his tribute with a direct message to his K9 companion:
“Jada, I know you hear me! I’m not mad at you…Please rest easy girl. You deserve it. I love you and we will meet again.”
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