MPD announced on its Facebook page Tuesday that Nitro had passed Monday afternoon due to a terminal condition which, according to Capt. Greg Kinonen, resulted in a necessary immediate decision.

“One minute he was here and the next he wasn’t,” Kinonen said. “It was an unfortunate series of events.”

On the Facebook page dedicated to K-9 Nitro, a goodbye was posted Monday afternoon from Nitro’s perspective, which read: “Today was my birthday, but it was also the day I crossed the rainbow bridge. I’m sure I will be missed, but rest assured I will be looking down and protecting all of you … I enjoyed serving Marquette … and it was an honor to go into harm’s way for the sake of everyone else.”

K-9 Nitro served with the MPD for seven years as a bomb-sniffing dog. In that time, the K-9’s impact touched not only his handler, Waldo, but the department and the city, and was as far-reaching as other states and countries.

According to Waldo, who called from vacation in Anchorage, Alaska, to speak on behalf of his K-9 partner and friend, he and the MPD received outreach and condolences from as far away as a sheriff in Louisiana and a handler in Spain.

“So this dog had some reach,” he said.

According to both Kinonen and Waldo, Nitro’s work was part of what made him unique.

“He was a hell of a worker,” said Kinonen. “He would sniff out guns that we had no idea were hidden … We used him in the schools for school safety. Before any large event, he would be out there and we could trust that if he went there and did his work, you could guarantee that there wasn’t a bomb around.”

It was thanks to Nitro, Waldo said, that the recent bomb scare on the 200 block of Washington Street in downtown Marquette on June 15 — due to a suspicious object — was handled so swiftly.

Waldo said, “We were able to mitigate that pretty fast, because it would have taken hours for a bomb squad to take a look at it, and we were able to clear that area within an hour.”

While Nitro’s abilities as a K-9 certainly set him apart, he was especially loved because of his personality and affinity for people.

Kinonen described Nitro’s unique presence in the department: “He was the epitome of a (Labrador). He was such a friendly dog … outgoing dog. A lot of the time when you see work dogs, they’re not like that. They’re all about the work. You could tell he enjoyed the company of his people … He couldn’t walk by somebody without getting a pet.”

For this reason, Kinonen explained that Nitro was the K-9 that the MPD took to most community events.

“He soaked it up,” Kinonen said.

Despite Nitro’s love of all people, Kinonen said he was especially close to his handler, Waldo, who knew him best.

“He was just a sweetheart. I could bring him to any event and he would be a hit,” Waldo said. “I trusted him 100%.”

According to Waldo, many people had a hand in training Nitro and, “Without the support of other training partners, he wouldn’t be the dog he (was).”

For Waldo — with whom Nitro lived — the K-9 was more than partner and friend. He was family.

“He was a work dog that was unbelievable at his task, which was finding explosives, but he could come home and be the best house dog ever,” Waldo said. “He was loyal, just wanted to be with his people and please his family … You know in the mornings, he would come up and lay in the bed next to me and he just wanted to be close … We brought him to hockey games and tournaments, on vacation.”

In fact, Waldo said that they had even coordinated with Delta Airlines and had previously cleared K-9 Nitro to attend their current vacation to Alaska, until a limited amount of sizeable rental cars necessitated a change of plans.

Instead, Nitro was set to have his own vacation, spending time at the office and away at MPD Chief Blake Rieboldt’s camp, where he could just “be a dog,” as Waldo said.

“I’m taking it really hard … He (was) a rockstar,” Waldo said. “He was referred to as the rockstar because he’s ‘the bomb.'”

As part of the goodbye post on K-9 Nitro’s Facebook page, he passed his legacy onto the MPD’s second dog, Zepp–named after Led Zeppelin, according to Waldo.

“It’s all on you now, K-9 Zepp!” the post read.

Shannon Konoske can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206. Her email address is skonoske@miningjournal.net.