SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — One of the most well-known K9s in recent years has died. K9 Lor handled by Greene County, Mo. Ofc James T. Craigmyle, was featured for years on the tv show LIVE PD.
Ofc Craigmyle released a statement as a letter to his longtime K9 partner:
Lor, To many he was their hero, to some he was their savior, others he was a bump in the night.
To me he was my best friend, my protector, the best partner anyone could ever ask for. He was a son to me.
We will always love you Lor, you will be forever remembered and cherished in the hearts of millions. – DEPUTY JAMES CRAIGMYLE
EOW – 07/26/2022 #K9Lor
Sheriff Jim Arnott of Greene County released a press statement expressing thanks to the Springfield area community for their support. And express condolences on the loss of Lor.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of K9 Lor. Lor passed away on July 26, 2022, surrounded by his family and canine siblings at the age of 13 years and 9 months.
The Sheriff’s Office would like to give a special thank you to those in the community who have supported Lor with their thoughts and prayers since his retirement as well as his multitude of veterinary experts, caregivers and family members.”
Lor will be laid to rest in the coming weeks at a private ceremony.
There are some specials places to donate and continue to honor his legacy. When you make a donation state it is in honor of Lor:
LIFE STORY OF K9 LOR, by Abby Norcross Craigmyle
Originally named Loris, a name still occasionally used at home when he was being sneaky, Lor was born in November of 2008 and came to the United States from Czechoslovakia in 2010 to start his law enforcement career with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and his handler, James Craigmyle. Lor was a “dual purpose” police dog trained in narcotics detection and patrol apprehension.
Throughout his career, Lor assisted the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Greene County Sheriff’s Department Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), various regional task forces, numerous other sheriff’s departments, city police departments, and his very own agency in locating hundreds of thousands of dollars in narcotics and hundreds of wanted persons.
Lor had approximately 2,000 deployments in his career. He used his amazing tracking and trailing skills on many occasions to locate missing or lost children and adults as well as violent suspects. Lor repeatedly assisted in locating weapons used during the commission of crimes in addition to other evidence needed in investigations.
During his patrol service, Lor reduced the risk of harm to officers and the public countless times, often with his mere presence and a warning bark or two, other times by physically apprehending violent suspects. He was known for his gentle nature with children as well as the ferocity with which he attacked the bite sleeve. He was punched, kicked, and beaten in the line of duty, but remained the even-tempered dog that he was known throughout the community to be.
Lor served as a law enforcement ambassador to the world and spent thousands of hours in schools with children of all ages and at community outreach events. He brought joy during visits to sick children in local hospitals and also made appearances at children’s birthday parties whenever possible – his favorite role being as Chase from Paw Patrol, of course.
Beginning in 2018, Lor appeared regularly on the LivePD television series where he was a fan favorite. This notoriety led to several plane trips, t-shirts with his image being sold on Amazon, and a stuffed toy in his likeness.
Beyond his fame, Lor will be remembered at the Greene County Sheriff’s Office for opening Major Corcoran’s refrigerator to steal apples, dropping slobber-covered toys into Sheriff Arnott’s lap during meetings, and having an affinity for red Kongs. He was a massive dog with feet the size of plates and a tail that could almost dent a wall when it was wagging. He was known for being sweet-natured, yet fierce, and unwilling to stand down – characteristics that served him well by making him tough enough to run down a suspect, but sweet enough to let 10 kids covered in pizza grease crawl all over him. He had an ironic love of snow and ice, specifically loving to catch snowballs in the air and munch ice he could get himself from the freezer, but he had a hatred of actual bodies of water and anything akin to swimming.
He loved Andy’s frozen custard, popcorn, and raw sweet potatoes. He was a destroyer of doorknobs wherever he went as he loved to open doors on his own; however, he did not know how to close them, which led to flies in the house during the summer.
He was an escape artist whether that be from the ICU at the MU School of Veterinary Medicine, any dog crate ever made, or from the house in an attempt to get to his food in the garage. He had an extreme oral fixation, having a ball or toy in his mouth, even when sleeping, and if one could not be located, he would bark until someone magically made one appear. He felt a duty to smell everything he came into contact with, making the simple task of unloading groceries last twenty minutes. When he heard the sound of his collar jingle, his ears would perk up and he would jump up ready for work regardless of if it were night or day or he had just gotten home. He loved and was fascinated by people and did not seem to even notice or be distracted by other animals – except cats. Lor was not a big fan of cats.
As he transitioned into civilian life, he gained a little bit of weight, took longer naps in the sun on the porch, and padded around the backyard with his sisters. After several health scares, all of which were supposedly “not survivable,” he settled into a languid routine of being a house pet and having his ears cleaned daily by his loving French Bulldog sister, Grace.
He was deaf but could still somehow hear a slice of cheese being unwrapped from 3 rooms away in a dead sleep. Despite being well into retirement, his ears would still twitch at the sound of a siren, he would get antsy when the kids were rowdy because he was concerned he needed to intervene, and he could still take all of his commands in a variety of foreign languages although recently hand signs had become much more effective. Being over 100 years old in people years, he has been slower since his last birthday and you could tell those years of fighting bad guys were taking their toll. Despite one of his human brother’s asking Santa to “make [him] immortal” for Christmas this year, the time came when neither his massive heart, nor his love for his people could sustain him any longer on this earth.
Lor, we loved you for your whole life and we will miss you for the rest of ours.
Lor is survived by his former handler, James Craigmyle and canine sister, Nala; his “mom” Abby Craigmyle and canine sisters Grace, Olivia and Lulu as well as leopard gecko friend, Ghost; his human brothers Cory Craigmyle and Owen Welytok; and his sisters Kali Craigmyle and Kassi Craigmyle.
The family would also like to thank Klingner-Cope Funeral Home for sponsoring the service and interment as a gift to our hero.
NOTE: The Greene County Sheriff’s office was regularly featured, including Lor, the former hit A&E series “Live PD” was cancelled in June 2020 amid protests following the murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Many of the same hosts and producers and departments have now joined a new show which debuted last weekend with a new name on a new network. On Patrol Live airs Friday and Saturday evenings on REELZ.
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