Mick, the Portland police dog who died in 2014 in a shootout that wounded his police partner, provided the inspiration for a statue that was dedicated Saturday.

But Rod Lucich knows there's a little bit of all police dogs in the statue, including Argus, his German shepherd that died in 1987.

Nearly 100 people attended the ceremony in front of the Portland Police Bureau's canine unit office and public safety building at 4735 E. Burnside St. The statue, created by Portland artist Richard Moore III, sits in front of the building entrance. The event fell on the end of Police Memorial Week.

Several members of the K-9 Team and their dogs as well as Police Chief Mike Marshman attended the event, emceed by Capt. Mike Crebs, head of the traffic division.

Lucich, now Molalla's police chief and among the first members of the Portland Police Bureau's K-9 unit in the early 1980s, also was on hand.

Lucich, in a speech, recounted the the night in 1987 that an assailant shot and killed his own police dog, Argus.

The officer and his canine partner had been called out to a nighttime incident in North Portland, where a man was shooting from his home.

Lucich and Argus had been a team for about a year. The 3-year-old German shepherd had amassed 84 captures already.

Lucich and Argus were positioned on a perimeter when the gunman emerged firing a rifle and a handgun, Lucich said.

"Argus responded to gunfire as he was trained," Lucich said.

A bullet hit Argus in the neck, exiting his rib cage.

Lucich tried to resuscitate the dog as he was rushed to an animal hospital where he died. Argus was killed exactly a year after his first capture -- a burglary suspect in an attic in Northeast Portland.

"The outpouring of sympathy from the police profession, from the community, from across the country and out of country, was overwhelming," Lucich recalled. "But so welcome."

Lucich credited the then-head of the K-9 unit, Sgt. Bob Gross, for quickly pairing the officer with another police dog – Tabor – "and putting me back in the game." Tabor finished his career with 511 captures.

Lucich retired from the Portland police bureau in 2008 after working in the K-9 unit from 1985 to 1996. He counts the experience among his favorites in law enforcement.

"Even with all the technology of our current age," Lucich told the audience, "police K-9s are still one of the most effective tools to law enforcement and I don't see that changing any time soon."

Mick's handler, Portland police canine Officer Jeffrey Dorn, also spoke. He focused his remarks on the gratitude he felt for the donations that paid for the statue, for Crebs' work at finding a home for the sculpture and for Moore's donated work as an artist.

"When I think back to when we lost Mick, it obviously brings back a lot of difficult memories," Dorn said, pausing for an extended period of time.

Dorn was wounded in both legs during a shootout with a burglary suspect in Southwest Portland on April 16, 2014.

Mick, the 17-month-old German shepherd, was shot trying to stop the gunman armed with an AR-15 rifle. Mick was found dead under a hedge in the front yard of a Southwest Lobelia Street home hours later. Hundreds of people attended a memorial ceremony for Mick held in May 2014 at Hillsboro Stadium.

"This memorial will not only remind of us of the sacrifice made by our partners," Dorn said, "but it will be a constant reminder as to why we train and expect nothing short of excellence from each other."

--Allan Brettman

503-294-5900

@allanbrettman