Dr. Lewis Hartman has been caring for animals as a veterinarian for decades.

Wednesday night, he saw something very few veterinarians ever get to see. It moved him.

"The overwhelming respect that all these police officers from all these different departments showed ..." Hartman trailed off, emotion filling his voice. "It was very much a traditional police ceremony."

Outside of Hartman's Valley Green Veterinary Hospital in Newberry Township, about 30 police cruisers parked, and dozens of officers and K-9s from various area police departments gathered.

They formed two lines that led to the veterinary hospital's front door. They stood in salute. They were showing a final gesture of respect for Newberry Township Police K-9 Tazer.

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Less than 24 hours earlier, Hartman had delivered devastating news to Sgt. Chris Martinez, Tazer's handler and partner for more than eight years. Hartman detected that Tazer, who was at the vet for a check-up and to get his vaccines Tuesday night, had cancer in his hind legs and was blind in both eyes, having full retinal detachments.

The news was a blow to Hartman.

"Tazer is a wonderful dog," Hartman said, adding that sometimes, veterinarians have to be careful with police dogs, since they can be wary of people, given their line of work. "He was a big-hearted, strong-willed police dog."

On Wednesday night, as Martinez returned to the veterinary hospital to have Tazer put down, Hartman was again overcome.

"The fact that Tazer walked right alongside Officer Martinez, through the corridor into the exam room," Hartman said, "it was incredible the level of Tazer's strength, stamina, spirit. For him to walk when he had bone cancer in both rear legs, that was incredible."

Tazer was given some of his favorite treats: chicken chips. He was sedated so he wasn't in any distress, and he went peacefully with Martinez at his side, Hartman said. Over the police radio, Tazer's last police call, his end of watch announcement, was made.

"It was a very, peaceful, calm process," Hartman said.

The decision to put Tazer down was the humane choice, Hartman said. He noted that when Martinez brought Tazer in for the check-up on Tuesday, he reported seeing Tazer act a little out of sorts.

"He was not limping, he was not showing any indication he had bone cancer, and bone cancer hurts," Hartman said. "But Tazer, true to his spirit, just continued to be Tazer" and had continued to work.

Hartman believes Tazer might have kept on working if Martinez didn't notice he wasn't acting normally, and he wasn't seen by a vet. "We decided we did not want to prolong this," Hartman said.

Newberry Township Police Chief Steven Lutz said Tazer "was one of us." That's why he wanted to invite other officers and K-9s who had worked with and trained with Tazer to pay their final respects on Wednesday. Lutz estimated about 30 or 40 police cruisers convoyed to the veterinary hospital, and there were about 18 K-9s there.

Watch K-9 Tazer attack YDR reporter Ted Czech during a training exercise:

"He provided a service to the community for eight years, and he deserved to be honored as any officer would," Lutz said.

Lutz recalled all the times Tazer would stop into the office and greet the other officers.

"He found from an early onset with me that if he found me, he would be rewarded with a plastic bottle," Lutz said. Tazer loved to play with a plastic bottle, grasping it between his paws and using his mouth to remove the lid without damaging the bottle. Once the lid was off, "he could destroy the bottle" in seconds, Lutz said.

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Lutz said he is planning on continuing the K-9 program at the department, but he wasn't ready to talk about details. He said so many people have reached out to him and the department with their condolences and offers of support, including offers to make a donation to help continue the program. He appreciates that support, but he and the department and Martinez need some time.

"I'm going to allow Sgt. Martinez to grieve, and the department to grieve for the next couple of days, before we put together a game plan," Lutz said. "Right now, we just want to focus on Tazer and the memories of him, and try to heal as an agency because he was a huge part of us."

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