Granite Falls mourns former police horse

Published 12:10 pm Thursday, August 22, 2013

Slick, a longtime Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and Granite Falls police horse, died Thursday morning after a lingering illness.

Slick’s partner was Granite Falls reserve police officer and retired sheriff’s deputy Ken Shefveland.

Slick had been struggling from laminitis, a hoof problem. They fought to save his life, but he ultimately had to be euthanized, Shefveland said.

The Herald plans a story soon.

For now, here are two nice bits from the obituary the officer wrote:

“Slick received his law enforcement commission from Sheriff Rick Bart, in a special public ceremony … The unit ultimately grew to eight deputies and horses before being ended due to a lack of funding in 2010.”

“As I noted in my testimony to the Washington State Senate many years ago, when they were considering the adoption of a law to protect police horses (RCW 9A.76.200): ‘He’s not just a horse, he’s a cop; and he’s not just a cop, he’s my partner.’ I shall miss my partner. Rest in peace, noble friend and fearless guardian.”