Harry the K-9 is coming home.
He’s the dog that has captivated a small town with the Sheriff coming in to save the day.
Tonight, the Circleville City Council voted to sell Harry to the Pickaway County Sheriff’s office. The vote was unanimous and comes just a week after council voted 5-2 not to do the deal previously.
It is likely heated pressure from the community and around the world that played a role in the change of heart. Nearly 100,000 people signed an online petition and numerous council members were lobbied by locals; some council members even reported receiving “hate mail” from angry voters.
Harry will be picked up Wednesday morning by two deputies from the Pickaway County Sheriff’s office, according to Sheriff Robbie Radcliff. He will be brought back to Circleville where a private reunion will take place between Harry and his handler, Rob Morningstar.
Morningstar, now a deputy, resigned from the police department in January with an agreement that he could buy Harry. However, two months later, the city took possession of Harry back; shortly after, Morningstar was hired by the Sheriff. A social media posting went viral and an online petition garnered nearly 100,000 signatures calling for council to give the dog back to his handler and to retire the dog.
After much back-and-forth, including one vote that ended in a “no” by city council to sell Harry just a week ago, the Sheriff intervened and offered to purchase Harry from the city and re-pair him with Morningstar.
In the documents the Guardian received, “the sale of this drug canine shall be for an amount not less than $12,000 and otherwise in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement….”
The payment by the Sheriff must be made within 21-days, according to the agreement.
Further, the agreement relieves Morningstar of a potential liability of approximately $7,800 for leaving the city before a 5-year canine handler contract was set to expire. In that agreement, Morningstar agreed to pay the city a $14,000 on a prorated basis if his employment ended with the city before 2022.
The sale was finalized immediately Tuesday night upon the passage of the ordinance, the documents reads.
The agreement has already been signed by the city’s Safety Director, Tony Chamberlin and Pickway County Sheriff Robert Radcliff.
