WINONA – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department is mourning the death of one of their own today.
K9 Deputy Peti died Sunday from illness. He was nine years old and had served Montgomery County since 2011.
Montgomery County Sheriff Nix said Peti was a great member of his team. He not only assisted the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, but he was utilized in neighboring counties in search efforts, drug investigations, and as an ambassador for the department in schools and around the community.
“He did us good,” Nix said.
Handled by Deputy Jim Burton, he was more than just a partner in law enforcement to the Burton and his family.
“He was like one of the family,” Burton said.
According to Burton, Peti assisted he and other law enforcement with traffic checkpoints on Friday night, but Peti was not acting like himself.
“When I tried to get him to search a vehicle, he just laid down and wouldn’t search,” Burton said.
Burton said the next morning, Peti was showing signs of distress so he took him to a veterinarian in Greenwood. The veterinarian suspected a brain tumor.
Peti died the next morning.
A funeral service was held Monday morning on the northwest side of the Montgomery County Courthouse. After a police escort from Oliver Funeral Home, Rev. Kenneth Armstrong, chaplain for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department officiated a short service memorializing the selfless service Peti gave to the people of Montgomery County.
“He was a friend and support and encouragement to everyone,” Armstrong said.
The Montgomery County Emergency Operations Center called for K9 Peti three times over the radio before announcing November 19 as “end of watch” for K9 Peti, and TAPS was played.
Nix said a stone has been ordered to mark Peti’s final resting place, just a short distance from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department where he served.
