Elderly Car Crash Victims Found Thanks to Incredible Nose of Police Dog Nix
Gabrielle LaFrank
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Whatever your opinion of or experience with police officers may be, it’s impossible to deny just how impressive trained K-9 officers truly are. Whether they were raised to sniff out narcotics or conduct search and rescue, these police dogs have played a role in saving countless lives.
In Florida, for example, K-9 Officer Midnight located a missing 3-year-old who had wandered into the woods near his home on March 31. The search didn’t even last an hour, thanks to the dog’s excellent scent detection skills. And in Las Vegas on March 29, K-9 Officer Enzo is getting spoiled rotten after being injured on the job while helping his handler and other officers apprehend a violent, suicidal man. Enzo will fully recover from his stab wounds, and the man he apprehended received help, too.
However, one special police dog in Oregon is being hailed as a hero after locating not one but two people following a car accident. Nix is a veteran K-9 Officer who’s been working since 2018, and she proved her skills yet again as she helped officers save an elderly couple. Good girl, Nix!
2 Rescues in 1 Afternoon
The Lincoln City, Oregon, Police Department was notified of a car accident around 2 PM on March 27. Evidence revealed that the car had gone over an embankment and crashed sometime during the previous night, but the wreck wasn’t discovered until the following day.
When K9 Nix and her handler, Officer Cody Snidow, arrived at the scene, they located an elderly woman inside the car. She was in the passenger seat and had suffered a head injury but was quickly transported to a local hospital. The driver–an 81-year-old man–however, had walked away from the car. Fortunately, that was no problem for Nix.
The trained Belgian Malinois quickly located the man about 100 yards away from the scene of the crash. He was “stuck in an area of dense blackberries,” according to local news, and had suffered a medical episode himself. First responders also transferred him to a local hospital.
Nix’s New Home
Although Nix has served the Lincoln County area since beginning her career in 2018, she has only been working with Officer Snidow and the Lincoln City Police Department since 2022. She was a gift from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office when she was considered a ‘surplus’ for the county (this is just technical jargon) at a time when the city had zero trained K-9s. Even two years later, Nix continues to prove just how valuable she is to the department.
The Lincoln City Police Department agreed in a press release, stating, “As there were no other K-9 units available in the county, Lincoln City Police Officer Snidow and K-9 Nix were instrumental in locating the driver and ensuring he received medical care.” […] “This incident highlights the importance of the Police K-9 program available in Lincoln City.”
Thank you, Officers Snidow and Nix, for remaining vigilant and dedicated to protecting the public.
