Nebraska City’s Officer Mack to retire, live out his days as family pet

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (KLKN) – Mack the K-9 has been keeping the streets of Nebraska City safe for around five years, getting deployed over 90 times in 2022.

“He did have an apprehension that was successful without injury on an individual that had stolen a car,” said Mack’s handler, Sgt. Christopher Richardson. “He had a very, very successful career on the narcotics side.”

Mack specializes in tracking and catching, as well as sniffing out illegal substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.

After so many deployments, The 7-year-old police dog is wearing out.

“Mack did have a recent checkup with his vet, and so that conversation happened between his vet and I,” Richardson said. “His body is just kind of at that time to let him live out his life as a pet versus continuing on the patrol side of things.”

Mack already lives with Richardson, but he plans to buy Mack from the city for $1 and officially become Mack’s owner.

“I live out in the country, so I’ve got enough ground for him to run and he’s protected out there as well,” he said.

While Mack seems to be looking forward to the change, Richardson is excited, if not a bit apprehensive.

“It’s going to be tough-  I’m with him more than my wife,” Richardson said. “I know that when I pull out of that driveway and Mack is no longer in my car, that’s going to be very difficult, especially if he can see me pulling out wondering ‘where’s dad going and why am I not there, and who’s that new guy in my seat?'”

Mack will continue his service for the community until his replacement is trained up and ready to report for duty, but getting and training a new K-9 can cost upwards of $15,000.

Nebraska City’s K-9 program is entirely donor-based, so Richardson has set up a Venmo account to help with the costs.

If you’d like to help, you can either send funds directly to the police station in Nebraska City, or Venmo @KashForK9.