A poem shared by a Canton police officer isn't leaving one dry eye in the house.
Massillon Police Department posted a poem to its Facebook page said to be shared by Canton Police Department Officer Frank Ranalli. The title of the poem is "The Life Of a Police Dog" and is about police K-9 service. Massillon police called the poem a 'tearjerker.'
Read the poem below:
The Life Of A Police Dog
You brought me home
One sunny day
With you for years
I would surely stay.I met your pack
Children and wife
I began to love
My new-found life.I slept on your couch
At the foot of your bed
You looked at me lovingly
While petting my head.We trained for months
And our bonding grew
We were both partners
Buddies in Blue.We did school demo’s
And I never did wrong
Over all of the years
My love for you grew strong.How I loved to work
To stand up and bark
In the back of our car
From light until dark.We went call to call
Having fun all the way
Until the call came
On that one fateful day.A man with a gun
The dispatcher did say
I jumped from my car
When it pointed your way.Before leaving home I was told
“keep him safe” by your wife
I knew at that moment
For you I would give my life.The bullet struck hard
Steady and true
The bullet struck me instead
Of striking you.When you go home tonight
Tell your wife I did good
Strong, Tall and Proud
On the ground that I stood.I’m dead and gone now
This much is true
But I’ve done my job well
Of protecting you.Thank you
Loyal partner,
Faithful friend,
You will be greatly missed.
The poem comes days after Canton Police K-9 Jethro died after being shot by a burglary suspect early Saturday morning while responding to a call.
So far, the post on Massillon police's Facebook page has generated nearly 1,000 likes, more than 600 shares and 145 comments.
Editor's Note: newsnet5.com originally reported the officer was from the Cleveland Police Department. It was also reported that the officer wrote the poem, but he actually just found it and shared it.
