Chevalier from Europe becomes Deputy Eddie for Pierce County cop
He had the name of a European warrior. Now, he’s Deputy Eddie for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
K-9 Eddie is an 18-month-old, solid black, purebred and trained German shepherd. He’s the latest addition to the Sheriff’s Department, courtesy of police counterparts in Slovakia.
Eddie is fluent in Slovak police commands. His parents are working police dogs in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
New partner deputy Theron Hardesty changed the dog’s aristocratic sounding name of Chevalier Zamat to the more prosaic Eddie. Chevalier means “knight” in French.
Hardesty and other law enforcement officers trained in Slovakia in 2018. In return, members of the Slovakian National and City Police visited Pierce and King County law enforcement agencies, according to KING 5.
“Our K-9 handlers made great friends with their counterparts in Slovakia and recently received an offer from their friends to obtain one of their specially trained dogs,” the Sheriff’s Department posted on its Facebook page Aug. 20.
Hardesty’s last K-9 partner, Bruz, retired in July.
Newly arrived to the U.S., K-9 Eddie just finished his first two weeks of obedience and bite work training with Hardesty.
Land-locked Slovakia is located in mountainous Central Europe. The state of Washington is three times larger in geographical size.
The gift of Eddie saved approximately $5,000, the Sheriff’s Department estimated.
This story was originally published August 22, 2019 at 9:24 AM.
