Madera County K-9 Obie honored with Purple Heart

MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Madera County K-9 is back to work after he was shot on the job in November.

Now, local leaders are honoring Obie with the Purple Heart.

“We want to, on behalf of the Board and on behalf of the community, thank Obie for his heroism,” Madera County Supervisor Leticia Gonzalez said during Tuesday’s ceremony.

Obie was shot while chasing a fleeing suspect in November.

“When [the suspect] turned around and I saw he had a gun that he used it on Obie in front of me, it was devastating. I felt a lot of guilt,” Obie’s handler Deputy Daniel Grever said.

The entire community was heartbroken over Obie’s injury, but no one more than Grever.

He says he and Obie spend all day together training and working, then they go home and play. He sees Obie as a son.

“I felt like mentally I wasn’t going to be okay until I knew that he was going to be okay. From that first day, seeing him limp out and in a cast, like it just broke me mentally and emotionally,” Grever said.

The two have been inseparable for two years, so Grever says he felt guilty for putting Obie in danger. 

Obie didn’t stay down, though.

After months of recovery, Obie is not just back on the job – Grever says he’s better than ever.

“We used to train with gunfire a lot just to get them acclimated. It was never his favorite. It was never something that, you know, he particularly loved doing, but he tolerated it and he did well enough. Now there’s just no reaction. Like, he’s completely acclimated. He’s dialed in. He’s doing better than he ever has been in his training,” Grever said.

He says Obie is more than deserving of the Purple Heart.

However, while the Purple Heart is a great honor, Obie seemed to prefer the gift basket of toys the county also gave him.

Grever says they will share the toys with other K-9s in the community.