On April 23, 2023, K-9 Officer Storm, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, completed her last day of active duty with the New Richmond Police Department. 

Her retirement was officially recognized at the May 8, 2023 City Council meeting, bringing to a close a love story in which the dog won the hearts of community members young and old alike.

Storm and her partner officer, Katie Chevrier, had the distinction of being the department's first K-9 team — and fulfilling Police Chief Craig Yehlik’s vision to further enhance his department’s capacity to combat the presence of illegal drugs, locate missing persons, search vehicles and buildings, deter crime and interact positively with the community including the schools.

Storm, with Chevrier as her human partner, were destined to become not only an essential resource to deter crime but a public ambassador for the department as well.

“[Chevrier] was a trailblazer for our agency. When we began the program we were relying on Katie [Chevrier] and Storm to do an amazing job. The balance of the K-9 program was on her shoulders,” Chief Yehlik said. 

In August of 2022 while on duty, Storm suddenly yelped and came up lame favoring her back leg. X-rays revealed that she had luxating patellas in both of her back legs. She underwent surgery on both legs with the expectation that she would fully recover and be able to return to duty.

During her recovery, a bowel obstruction landed Storm in the emergency room. An ultrasound revealed a mass on her spleen and an enlarged adrenal gland in addition to the blockage. There was no way to test the mass for cancer and if it burst it could have killed her. 

The vet removed Storm’s spleen and a portion of her intestine.

During her recovery, thoughts and prayers poured in from Facebook — emblematic of her relationship with the community: “Beautiful Storm; Recover soon Storm. Get well soon sweet pup.”

Eventually, Storm recovered from the surgeries and returned to duty, but unfortunately her left knee continued to give her trouble. Despite the pain, she pushed through.

“Storm loved to work. She put all her energy and passion into being with me and working for me. She acted tough and didn’t let it stop her but I could see she was in pain and was trying to mask it,” Chevrier said.

After discussions between Deputy Chief Koehler, Chief Yehlik and the city administrator, it was determined Storm would retire, ending her service prematurely at age 8. 

“Storm would have given her life for me. I owed it to her to not have her in pain,” Chevrier said.

Forever partners

Since her retirement, Storm, along with Chevrier, have been living life out of the spotlight, off the street and away from the dangers associated with her previous life as a crime fighter. 

Following the decision to retire Storm, Chevrier signed a form officially accepting full custody of her partner. That responsibility included paying her ongoing veterinary care.

“It was a big commitment but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Storm is my partner and I owe everything to her. She made my dream come true,” Chevrier said.

According to Chevrier, Storm is enjoying her retirement. She still has a little hitch in her giddy-up but her knees continue to improve and no longer swell up after activity.

When she’s not going for walks in the woods or fields, you can find Storm enjoying car rides and spending more time with family including the other family dogs and cats. She still loves chasing her kong and playing tug and apparently she is quite the cuddler and loves belly rubs.

Storm still returns periodically to the police department where she enjoys visiting with all the officers and staff and “slobbering everywhere in the office.”

“Our relationship is strong and gets stronger everyday. Storm knows she is retired and can just be a 'normal dog' but she still keeps an extra eye out for me,” Chevrier said.

Everyday they were on the street, Officer Chevrier and Storm proved their value to the department and community. They set a standard of service that established the long-term viability of a K-9 team which Officer Nathaniel Behnke and K-9 Koda now inherit. The program continues to be supported solely by donations from the community. 

Donations came be made through the New Richmond Area Community Foundation or directly at the police department. 

“Storm and I would like to thank the community for all the support for the K9 program. Storm and I were the first K9 team for the City of New Richmond. Not only the first team, but the first female team! We strived to be the best every day and to serve the community the best that we could. We couldn’t have done it without the community’s support along with the support from the city administrators and police staff. It was an honor to have served as the first canine team. Thank you.”