CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office is commenting on a misleading GoFundMe page involving one of the office’s K9s.
The sheriff’s office was made aware of the GoFundMe page on Thursday. It was created by Keli Behnen to solicit funds to purchase a K9 that was once assigned to her husband.
The page indicated that $8,000 would purchase K9 Krennic for Deputy John Behnen.
The sheriff’s office is not offering Krennic, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois purchased in 2017 as a dual-purpose K9.
The K9 was assigned to Deputy Behnen after his previous K9 Jerry-Lee retired.
Krennic and his handler worked together for a year.
Knowing Krennic would go unutilized for the next 3-5 month period or longer, the sheriff’s office decided to reassign the dog.
The sheriff’s office said the length of time the K9 officer goes without training is a risk to officer safety. Deputy Behnen is currently out on extended leave and unable to train Krennic.
The sheriff’s office said it’s common practice to reassign a K9 officer to a different handler.
Deputy Behnen is currently the owner of retired K9 Jerry-Lee.
All K9 deputies are informed prior to receiving their partner that the dogs are not to be considered pets, but are strictly a working partner.
The sheriff’s office said it does not condone the misguide efforts and misleading statements made on the GoFundMe page.
