<div><p>There are not a lot of bonds stronger than the one between a police canine handler and their devoted dog. That bond was threatened when an obscure state law in Ohio almost ripped Officer Matt Hickey away from his cherished canine Ajax.</p><p>The problem started when Hickey was forced to retire due to health reasons. At 5 his dog Ajax was still too young to retire from the force, so Hickey offered to purchase him for $3,500 - a value set by the city of Marietta.</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/hickeyandajax-gofundme.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/hickeyandajax-gofundme_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/hickeyandajax-gofundme_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/hickeyandajax-gofundme_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="Hickey and Ajax" alt="Hickey and Ajax" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>GoFundMe</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>Everyone agreed, but then the city's law director stumbled upon an old state law that forbade Hickey from owning city property.</p><p>"The dog is property of the city of Marietta," Paul Bertram III, <a href="http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2016/01/29/marietta-ohio-retired-marietta-officers-k9-set-to-be-auctioned-despite-offering-to-pay-city.html">t</a>old a news station. "Because it is personal property, it is treated like a shovel. That's just the way it is."</p><p>That obviously didn't go over well with Hickey.</p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>"He's with me 24/7," Hickey said<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/police-dog-ajax_us_56b0ec00e4b0a1b96203d58d">.</a> "He goes with me on my vacation; there's a tight bond. I'm his pack leader."</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ajax-barkpost.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ajax-barkpost_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w" sizes="89vw" title="Ajax" alt="Ajax" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Bark Spot</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>He launched a legal challenge that brought the attention of the nation with it. He received over $70,000 to pay for his fight, and to purchase Ajax at auction if it came to that.</p><p>It didn't.</p><p>Finally Hickey received the call he should have gotten in the first place, and it was even better than he thought it would be.</p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>The same lawyer that found the problem also found the solution. When a canine unit disbands the handler is allowed to purchase the dog for $1.</p><p>So now Officer Hickey gets to enjoy retirement with his friend, and hold on to the $3,499 he saved up too.</p><p></p></div>
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