HURRICANE — In a recent city council meeting in Hurricane, those in attendance quickly quieted when several policemen entered the room.

It was K-9 G that drew their attention, and the backup officers that arrived with him just as quickly faded into the background.

The paw-inspiring appearance was due to a donation to the Hurricane Police Department from the Sky Mountain Golf Course Homeowners Association. Resident Susan Seder told the council the funds being donated were raised from the HOA’s annual golf tournament.

“Each year, we pick a member or organization in the community to donate the proceeds of our golf tournament to,” Sedar told St. George News after the meeting. “After hearing the news about Riko, several of our members brought up the idea of helping out Hurricane’s K-9 force with any needs they may have.”

In Dec. 2022, Hurricane Police K-9 Riko was nearly fatally injured from knife wounds during an incident. After an ambulance ride to St. George and a blood transfusion from St. George Police K-9 Enzo, Riko was airlifted to Las Vegas for surgery.

Not one to lie around when there is work to be done, Riko was back in Hurricane two weeks later, as previously reported by St. George News. At the time, he also attended a City Council meeting, where he was recognized for his heroism displayed that day.

Officer Omar Torres, K-9 G’s partner, was in attendance to receive the golf tournament donation along with Chief Lynn Excel and a half-dozen law enforcement to support their coworkers.

Seder said many homeowners in the Sky Mountain Golf Course community have dogs themselves, making the decision to donate to G and Riko easy.

“If you stroll through the streets of the Sky Mountain community, it won’t take you any more than five minutes to realize that this is a dog-friendly community,” Seder told the council. “So it made perfect sense that the organization we chose this year was the Hurricane Police Department’s K-9 unit.”

The tournament saw 23 teams competing with many local businesses donating time and materials. At the council meeting, Seder presented Torres and K-9 Officer G with a check for $1,300.

Officers Torres, Eric DeMille and K-9s Riko and G attended the golf tournament and gave participants a demonstration and short presentation about the Police Department’s K-9 program.

Mayor Nanette Billings said she is thankful to live in such a supportive community.

“We are so thankful for our police officers and K-9s,” she said. “We are so blessed to live in this community.”

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