Ruralite Cafe: Published 01/16/03

By Lisa Majors-Duff - News Editor

County's K-9 officer passes away at age 14

Jackson County K-9 officer Kimba arrived in the United States and joined the Sheriff's Office in 1993. Because the 4-year-old Dutch National Police Dog had been trained in Holland, her partner, Detective Ronnie Mathis, was required to attend a two-week training session to learn the basics of K-9 handling and to learn to speak Dutch.

"The first day we were together she bit me," Mathis recalled with a grin. "Unknowingly I had given her a command when I moved my hand too fast, so she bit it."

But after about three days of getting to know one another, the two formed a bond.

"We were lucky to get her," Mathis said of Kimba's advanced training in drug detection, tracking ("both good and bad guys," Mathis said), article search, criminal apprehension and handler protection.

Kimba, a black Groendael, a breed related to the brown Belgium Malonis, began her law enforcement training at about 6 weeks of age. She was certified as a Dutch National Police Dog and served with Holland's law enforcement for about three years.

"Sheriff (Bob) Allen purchased Kimba through Triad K-9 Training Inc.," Mathis said. "He asked me to work with her because he knew I had animals at home." What he had at home were Boston bull terriers, which, he said, "got along great" with Kimba.

In semi-retirement since late 2000, one of Kimba's responsibilities while with the Sheriff's Office was to perform demonstrations for Jackson County school children. She and Mathis visited each school several times and amazed students with her ability to find "lost" items or sniff out "pseudo" drugs. For her efforts, Kimba received lots of cards and letters from students, Mathis said.

On the job, the team of Kimba and Mathis made more than 500 drug arrests and spent many hours in the woods looking for lost individuals and some who wished they could have stayed lost. One of Kimba's "greatest missions," Mathis said, was the time she helped capture two individuals who had broken into Western Builders in Dillsboro. After escaping into the woods, one of the suspects hid in the bushes in an effort to avoid officers.

But Kimba was not fooled. Faced with ferocious fangs and a terrifying bark, "the man came up with his hands up, screaming, 'Call your dog off. Call your dog off,'" Mathis said.

Neither was Kimba fooled by attempts to disguise the odor of drugs, her partner said.

"They came up with all kinds of tricks to hide the smell, but we figured all of them out," Mathis said. "Kimba even found marijuana locked in a fire-proof safe."

Jackson County's K-9 officer passed away at age 14 Saturday, Jan. 9. She was at home with Mathis.

"Kimba was highly respected by the other officers and will be truly missed," Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe said last week.

"She wasn't just a partner; she was a trusted friend," Mathis said.

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