FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. – Members of the military police community and others gathered at Memorial Chapel July 6 to mourn the loss of one of their own.
Vucan, a German Shephard, died June 6, just short of his sixth birthday.
An unspecified intestinal disease was the cause of death, said Pfc. Jacob Mejias, his handler assigned to the 544th Military Police Detachment (Military Working Dog).
A dual-purpose patrol and drug detector dog, Vucan spent most of his working life at Fort Gregg-Adams, participating in numerous policing operations, health and welfare inspections and drug detection missions. He also deployed to Kuwait.
Mejias, the last of Vucan’s three handlers, eulogized his partner as a “special character” whom everyone “adored” but who also was headstrong and known to bite.
“At first I was intimidated by him,” said the 21-year-old, “but slowly, the more I got to working, I realized how gentle and kind he was.”
Mejias bonded with Vucan, and together, the two worked toward the coveted dog-handler certification, a difficult process dependent not only on individual skills but teamwork and chemistry.
“For me, it was a pleasure taking him out every day for training and learning so many things with him,” he said. “I can also say he was too advanced and too much for me .... (and because he was) I wouldn’t be the same handler …. I owe him so much ….”
The team earned certification on Mejias’ first try, which he said is rare.
Vucan was Mejias’ first service dog, and before that also the first one for Sgt. Sydney R. Lee, a former 544th MP Det. member who is deployed. Lee, who spent two years with Vucan, shared fond words from afar.
“He was a hard worker, always eager to train, to play, to go and do,” she said in a statement read by Cpl. Charles Claasen. “He was made for the job. He would run his little heart out if I let him do so. He was the real version of the phrase ‘ride or die.’ No matter what I had going, he was always right there beside me, ready to tag along. He never skipped a beat.”
The service concluded with poems narrated by unit members. One, “Guardians of the Night” expressed the strong connection between handlers and dogs:
“Together you and I shall experience a bond only others like you will understand. When outsiders see us together, their envy will be measured by their disdain; I will quietly listen to you and pass no judgement. Nor will your spoken words be repeated. I will remain ever silent, ever vigilant, and ever loyal. …”
In a ceremonial gesture following the poems, 544th MP Det. kennel master Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Leo handed Vucan’s dog tags to Mejias to “symbolize his final rest.”
Col. James Hoyman, Garrison commander; and Command Sgt. Maj. Tamisha Love, Garrison CSM were among those present.
The 544th MP Det. is a subordinate of the 217th MP Det.
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