Deputy Thompson, K9 Eddy Meet Fans During State Fundraiser In Statesboro

Whitfield County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Thompson and his K9 partner, Eddy, have seen and done a lot during their four years together.

But recently, the crime-fighting duo enjoyed a first during “An Evening for the K9s,” a fundraiser for the Georgia Police K9 Foundation held June 5 at The Oak  Room in Statesboro.

“We were set up in a tent outside, and I was getting bombarded with questions and pictures when a girl came up and asked if she could get Eddy’s pawograph,” Thompson explained.

Holding out a book full of other such paw prints from other dogs at the event, the girl explained to the bewildered Thompson that he would simply need to place Eddy’s paw on an inkpad,  then press down on a sheet of paper in the book to transfer his paw print.

“I signed my name and put my badge number next to the paw print,” Thompson said, “and then I signed K9 Eddy and put his badge number, 705. The girl could tell how impressed I was that she ended up giving me another kit so I could make more prints here.”

Thompson and Eddy were among the 25 K9 teams taking part in the annual event that raised $150,000 for the Georgia Police K9 Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Statesboro that raises awareness and helps active and retired K9s across the state.

The foundation has provided ballistic vests, heat alarms, medical kits, K9 inserts, Narcan, training equipment and training, and medical assistance and food for retired K9s, and has also honored fallen K9s.

In fact, K9s who had suffered traumatic injuries were special guests at the event. “I saw a dog that just had surgery to amputate one of its legs, and the Foundation had helped them out with the costs,” Thompson said. “They’re really big about that – that’s what they do. They give the dogs what they need, and they help some of the smaller departments that don’t have things as good as we do here. The county really set up my Tahoe nice, the way it needs to be set up, but some departments can’t afford to do that.

“If there’s a need out there for something like that, whether it’s an expensive surgery that’s gonna cost the department a lot of money they don’t really have to spend or whether it’s outfitting a piece of equipment for a vehicle to give a dog what it really needs, that’s what they do.”

Forty-six states were represented at the fundraiser, with enthusiastic followers of K9 units sometimes traveling long distances to see some of their favorite furry friends, including Eddy, who earned a national following after participating in the 2019 “America’s Top Dog” TV show on the A&E network.

“What really surprised me is that people from all over the United States jumped on a plane or jumped in a car to drive down to Statesboro to see their favorite dog, whether it was K9 Eddy or whether it was K9 Mattis or K9 Leo or K9 Rio,” Thompson said. “That is very impressive. It kinda made me feel a little bit special that people came down specifically just to see Eddy.”

Throughout the four-hour event, Thompson says he answered lots of questions from fans. “They had us set up under tents outside, and so one, two, three people started coming up to me and saying, ‘We saw your episode on TV – congratulations! Is that Eddy?’ Everyone was so nice – I don’t think anyone came up and just petted Eddy without asking first if it was OK.”

One of the big draws of the night was Sgt. Mark Tappan of Alpharetta, who brought his dog Mattis with him. Mattis, who retired from active police duty on March 17, has built a huge following of millions on social media and indeed is the subject of a new best-selling book on Amazon called “My Dog Mattis” written by Tappan.

Reflecting on the past year, Thompson says he volunteered to work on the night shift with Eddy three or four months ago because of manpower shortages at the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, an experience that has proven to be good for both of them.

“When I had my normal schedule (weekdays only), me and Eddy were kinda doing our own thing,” Thompson said. “I wasn’t really working wrecks, and I wasn’t really working domestics, and I wasn’t really backing up other officers on  too many calls. But now that I’m assigned to a shift and I’m doing all those things, I’m getting closer to the younger deputies, working side by side with them.  They’re helping me, and in turn I’m helping them, while exposing Eddy to some different situations.

“I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been a welcome change to get a little bit more grounded message of what it was we essentially signed up to do,” Thompson said, “and that’s for me and Eddy to work the streets, assist the drug unit, assist deputies, find drugs, get bad guys’ drugs off the street. That’s our job, right?”

For more information on how you can support the K9 Foundation, visit www.gapolicek9foundation.org or go to @gpk9f on Facebook.