By Officer Matt Bottoni
My name is Officer Matt Bottoni and for the last four years of my life, I had the absolute privilege and honor of having K-9 Djuke as my partner. Ever since I became an officer, I knew I wanted to be a K-9 handler and one of the reasons I chose to apply for the Mequon Police Department was because of our K-9 Unit. In October of 2020, my dream came true and after five weeks of school, I hit the road with my canine partner, K-9 Djuke. The bond I felt with Djuke was instant. He had one straight ear and one floppy ear, which everyone seemed to love. I was not too sure about his ear at first, but I also grew to love it. He was honestly one of a kind. He was gentle with kids, loved to play fetch, but had a fierce protector inside of him.
Day in and day out, I rode with Djuke in the back of my squad. During this time, he protected all officers at the Mequon Police Department and made us more efficient at our jobs. Djuke and I would also frequently get dispatched outside of the city into Ozaukee County, Milwaukee County, or Washington County, where Djuke used his unique skillset to keep every officer and citizen safe. I worked the road with K-9 Djuke for just over 4 years and during that time, K-9 Djuke logged over 600 deployments. These deployments could have been anything from a vehicle sniff for narcotics to a person search to a child’s birthday party meet and greet event. In those deployments, K-9 Djuke helped Mequon Officers make over 94 arrests for possession of illegal narcotics or weapon related offenses. These numbers only account for the arrests February 18, 2025 directly made by Mequon Officers. I would guess his actual arrest number is somewhere in the 150 to 175 range due to frequent deployments outside of the city.
I had so many memorable deployments with K-9 Djuke, but here are three that stick out in my mind. The first was when we were called in to deal with a barricaded subject who had allegedly physically assaulted someone. We were called several hours into the situation and every other avenue to get the barricaded subject to exit the residence had failed. However, once K-9 Djuke arrived, the suspect heard K-9 Djuke bark and the suspect chose to exit the residence peacefully, causing no injuries to the officers or to the suspect. The second was on a “routine” traffic stop where K-9 Djuke was deployed for a free air sniff of the vehicle. The vehicle sniff resulted in the recovery of a gun and illegal narcotics. The gun was later linked to a homicide in Milwaukee. The third was another “routine” traffic stop that also turned into a canine free air sniff of the vehicle. During this incident, officers located a substantial amount of cocaine with a street value of approximately $2000.
Many incidents were also de-escalated by the mere presence of K-9 Djuke. Just merely having him on scene prevented officers from having to use force to take a suspect into custody and caused the suspect to peacefully surrender. None of these incidents take into account the impact K-9 Djuke also had on the community. These included birthday parties, station tours, citizen’s police academy sessions, meet and greets, and meeting kids during trick or treat. K-9 Djuke was always willing to take time out of his busy day to get pets from neighborhood kids or just say hi.
Heartbreakingly, just two months shy of K-9 Djuke’s sixth birthday, my life would be turned upside down. On January 28, 2025, K-9 Djuke had a normal training day at his kennel in Fond Du Lac. When K-9 Djuke came home, he became ill and the next morning, he was taken to the vet. The vet did tests and said he was dehydrated. K-9 Djuke was given fluids, medications, and told to go home and rest. The next morning, he was taken to an emergency vet after his condition worsened. K-9 Djuke collapsed upon arrival to the vet and shortly passed away after.
K-9 Djuke was my partner, protector, and best friend. Losing him still burns everyday and going to work without him hasn’t been the same since he passed. Every day I load up my squad without him and, at times, I swear I still hear him kicking around in the back seat, even though I know he’s not there. This additionally has been devastating for my family, who no longer has a furry protector and friend roaming the house on his days off. Many officers at the department have also felt the loss of their loving and protective partner.
I am so grateful for the four years I got to spend with K-9 Djuke. Being a canine handler has been the most challenging yet rewarding job I’ve had since becoming a police officer. For that reason, I am so passionate about the unique skillset that a canine can bring to the community and police department. Canines play an integral role in keeping officers and communities safe. Yet many departments do not have canine units purely due to costs. Canines are expensive. They require special equipment and squads to keep them safe. They have food bills, vet costs, and other required expenses. They get injured or sick or need dental work from all the apprehension training they do. The Mequon Police Department Canine Unit would not exist without the support of the Mequon-Thiensville Community Foundation. Our unit is almost completely funded by generous donations from the community, and we are able to exist due to these donations.
A question I get asked often is, will the department add another canine to replace Djuke? While no dog could ever replace Djuke, it is the department’s goal to have two canine units up and running at all times. This ensures we have adequate coverage, and a canine unit is available for requests as they cannot work 24/7 and do get days off with their handlers. Right now, we have K-9 Yukon with his handler, Officer Van Laanen. The department is in the process of selecting the next K-9 officer and K-9, with the goal of filling the position by this spring.
An anonymous donor has come forth to fund the purchase of Djuke’s replacement. I would ask that anyone who wanted to help honor the memory of K-9 Djuke and his service to the City of Mequon, make a donation to the Mequon-Thiensville Community Foundation. Ongoing support of the K-9 program (vet bills, equipment, training, etc) is made possible by private donations. I can personally say how grateful I am for all the support I was given by members of the community while I was K-9 Djuke’s handler. I was truly blessed to be K-9 Djuke’s handler and none of that would have been possible without the loving support of the community and the Mequon-Thiensville Community Foundation.