“I want his story to live on,” Mirarchi said. “So that’s how I pay it forward for him: to just keep telling his story. And if I keep doing that, then he’s always still here.”

#Hurricane #RIP

#DogsOfMastodon #dogs #WorkingDogs

https://www.instagram.com/p/DFvVFxjvOQr/

The next day, #Hurricane visited the White House for the final time. Hurricane’s former #SecretService colleagues presented him with a plaque with his name on it & an American flag. Mirarchi declined to say whether Hurricane was euthanized, but after the White House visit, Mirarchi said he & about a dozen of his former colleagues gathered around Hurricane as he died.

But Mirarchi could tell this month that Hurricane’s days were short-lived. On Feb 11, #Hurricane flew on an American flag-themed Southwest Airlines plane from Colorado to Baltimore, where #SecretService members who worked with Hurricane greeted him outside his gate. Mirarchi rolled Hurricane in a wagon because he struggled to walk.

People across the world celebrated #Hurricane years after he stopped the intruder.

In Oct 2019, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, a British #veterinary #charity, gave Hurricane its Order of Merit. The honor is the animal equivalent of the Order of the British Empire, which the royal family has awarded for #charitable & #PublicService works for over a century. In Mar 2022, Hurricane was given a Distinguished Service Medal from the award body Animals in War & Peace.

Mirarchi said he struggled to work without #Hurricane, so he retired in 2017 after working w/the #SecretService for more than a decade. Mirarchi said he found another purpose: He wanted other retired K-9s to receive free veterinary care, so he founded his nonprofit, K9 Hurricane’s Heroes. He & Hurricane traveled the world for #charity events, where Hurricane played w/children. Mirarchi partnered w/Kinetic Dog Food to make a bacon-flavored treat called Hurricane Bites.

#Hurricane & Mirarchi received the Secretary’s Award for #Valor by the DHS, an honor that recognizes acts of #heroism, in Nov 2015.

In Sept 2016, Hurricane retired due to his health. While Hurricane loved playing with Kong toys, Mirarchi said he still trained Hurricane, who was accustomed to practicing.

In Dec 2016, the Animal Medical Center in NYC named Hurricane one of its annual top dogs, covering his postretirement medical bills, Mirarchi said.

#DogsOfMastodon #dogs #WorkingDogs

The suspect, 23-year-old Dominic Adesanya, was taken to a hospital with injuries from a dog bite. #Hurricane’s body was covered in bruises, bumps & blood, Mirarchi said, & he was taken to a veterinarian. Mirarchi said he worried Hurricane would die of his injuries.

The next day, the #SecretService posted photos of Hurricane & Jordan on social media & said a veterinarian cleared them to work. But Hurricane was never as nimble again, Mirarchi said.

On Oct 22, 2014, #Hurricane was 6 yrs old when he spotted a man jumping the White House fence. The intruder fought off another #SecretService canine, Jordan, when he was about halfway across the North Lawn. But then Hurricane, who weighed more than 60 pounds, charged in for a brawl that lasted a few seconds before Hurricane knocked the man to the ground.

#Hurricane, who had a black coat & brown eyes, joined the #SecretService’s K-9 unit in November 2012 & was paired with Mirarchi. Hurricane underwent more than 4 months of training at the Rowley Training Center in Laurel, MD, learning to bite hard, jump high & react quickly to security threats. When Hurricane was promoted to guarding the White House, he jumped & spun in excitement from the back seat each time Mirarchi drove onto the property.

#Hurricane, who retired in 2016, won national & international awards for stopping the intruder.

“He could work & be the hardest, most ferocious, fearless dog,” said Mirarchi, 41. “And then two minutes later, he could be sitting in your lap, just wanting to get pet.”

Now, Mirarchi is celebrating #Hurricane’s life. The 15-year-old died in Alexandria, Virginia, on Feb. 12, Mirarchi said.

Since the October 2014 incident at the White House, Mirarchi said he has tried to repay Hurricane for his loyalty, giving him lots of bacon-flavored treats & creating a nonprofit organization in his name to raise money for retired #law enforcement & #military dogs’ veterinary care.

#DogsOfMastodon #dogs #WorkingDogs
https://www.k9hurricanesheroes.org/

#Hurricane was lauded for protecting President Barack #Obama & his family, who were home at the time. But Hurricane’s owner, Marshall Mirarchi, who was working that night as a Secret Service officer, saw something else.

“I basically had a dog that was willing to die for me,” Mirarchi told The Washington Post. “He knows: ‘Dad is behind me. Do not let this guy get to Dad.’”

#Hurricane, a #BelgianMalinois, rose to fame more than a decade ago when he spotted a man hopping the White House fence. Hurricane, a Secret Service canine, kept his jaws locked onto the intruder’s arm even as the man kicked, punched & slammed him into the North Lawn. The dog pinned the man in place so authorities could take him into custody.

#DogsOfMastodon #dogs

The Week in Musk...

On the chopping block: The National Weather Service
https://www.muskwatch.com/i/156642222/on-the-chopping-block-the-national-weather-service

"The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which manages the National Weather Service & National #Hurricane Center... On Tuesday, Musk's team entered the agency’s offices...

#NOAA primarily gathers data on changes to the #climate & #weather patterns... The fact that NOAA quantifies the effects of #ClimateChange has made it a target of Republican ire."