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A retired Massachusetts State Police K-9 is one of the latest working dogs to be selected by a national nonprofit organization to receive medical benefits for the rest of his life.K-9 Odin, an 8-year-old German Shepherd, retired this past July after spending seven years with the department assigned to Sgt. Nick Favaloro in 2021 after Odin's previous handler had to leave the specialized unit. Toward the end of his career with the Massachusetts State Police, Odin was diagnosed with degenerative arthritis in his elbows, requiring monthly injections that cost more than $200 per injection."When we're on the job, obviously, everything is covered by the state police," Favaloro said in a sit-down interview with Newscenter5 at the department headquarters in Framingham. "When the dog retires, we agree to take over responsibility for everything."And that means all medical costs are paid out of pocket.Favaloro began researching organizations that help with the medical costs associated with the retired K-9 and had known about Project K-9 Hero, so he sent in an application."Project K-9 Hero was a big one that we liked, so we sent in an application." Favaloro said. "Within a couple of weeks, I got a call from the founder Jason himself. He said Odin's covered for the rest of his life for medical bills, whatever he needs. And that was kind of like an early Christmas present for us."Project K-9 Hero is a nonprofit organization based in the mid-west that is now responsible for covering the medical costs for police, military and government working dogs in 48 states. Started by Jason Johnson, a former K-9 handler himself, as a way to give back to the K-9s that have served their communities and country."We help with significant medical costs, end-of-duty services, rehabilitation, rehoming and prescription food," Johnson said. "We have found that most police K-9s and military working dogs after they serve their communities or country don't get this service. I started this nonprofit to make sure that none of them go without what they need after their faithful service to our country."Johnson said that they have more than 800 pending applications for benefits and they work to accept one K-9 every week, with K-9 Odin becoming the 314th member of their "pack." "Not only do we raise money through our nonprofit through donations to pay for that, we fight for the rights of these K-9 heroes with state and local governments. We try to get some of that funding put aside so we can put that towards retirement for many generations to follow," Johnson said. During his career, K-9 Odin was deployed for service more than 90 times, with one of his last deployments coming following a vehicle pursuit through several communities on the North Shore at the end of April, when the suspect fled his disabled pickup truck on foot and into a wooded area behind a cemetery in Danvers. Favaloro released K-9 Odin from his cruiser and ordered him to apprehend the suspect. After a brief chase, K-9 Odin successfully stopped the fleeing suspect, allowing Favaloro to place him into custody.For more information on Project K-9 Hero, or to make a donation, you can check out their website or social media channels by searching "Project K9 Hero" on Facebook and X.

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