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Scott County Commission to Juden: Bring Rex home
BENTON, Mo. — After Scott County Sheriff Wes Drury announced early Tuesday he would not be retiring the county’s K-9, Rex, hours later the county’s three commissioners ordered for the K-9 to return home with its previous handler, former Scott County sheriff’s deputy Hunter Juden.
A crowd of 50 or so people gathered in the courtroom on the second floor of the Scott County courthouse Tuesday morning as the Scott County Commission heard from Scott County Prosecuting Attorney Amanda Oesch, Juden and other members of the community. Many showed support for the 9-year-old K-9 to be reunited with Juden.
Oesch told those present at the meeting she asked to be placed on Tuesday’s agenda after she received a call from the commissioners during their meeting on Thursday, requesting she give them advice regarding the K-9 situation.
“I went down to the county commission chambers and found out there were plans to retire K-9 Rex,” Oesch said. “The Commission had some legal questions for me about what legally was required in order to retire K-9 Rex.”
Juden was present and explained his position in regard to K-9 Rex, Oesch said. Juden, who is also the Morley police chief, recently made a career change from Scott County Sheriff’s Office as the K-9 handler to work with the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Plans to retire Rex had already been in place, and Juden was in hopes Rex would be placed with him, according to Juden. On Thursday, Juden received confirmation from Drury he had planned to retire Rex with someone else.
Oesch said she asked for more time do some research on the matter.
“My concerns were whether the elected sheriff could retire the K-9 and give that to somebody without any county approval and whether K-9 Rex was considered county property which would require the Commission’s approval for ‘disposal’ of the county property,” she said.
There were also liability concerns in regard to K-9 Rex.
“K-9 Rex has obviously undergone specific training. We, as Scott County citizens, have paid for that training of K-9 Rex so in order for him to be released to somebody, I wanted to make sure the county was protected with liability concerns,” Oesch said. “… If we release him to somebody, the county needs a release from that individual saying that they understand they are receiving ownership of K-9 Rex and that he’s been specifically required of these things and if something were to happen with K-9 Rex, that this individual would hold Scott County harmless in regard to liability concerns.”
Oesch said she also wondered how Rex is paid for and how he is maintained through the years.
“That was why I requested this meeting for today — so we could get the sheriff here and we could address those questions and get some some answers in regard to how we are going to address those concerns,” she said.
Oesch said she was was told on Monday the Sheriff’s Office now does not intend to retire K-9 Rex, that they will be keeping him in service and using him in the schools and the jail for drug detection and train him with a new K-9 handler.
Drury, who was not present at Tuesday’s commission meeting, issued a news release in reference to Rex about 90 minutes prior to the 9:30 a.m. meeting.
“After much deliberation regarding Rex’s future, we feel that it is in the best interest of Rex and the citizens of Scott County not to retire him at this time,” Drury said in the release. “The overwhelming support of our canine program has been rekindled with the promise of continued support to keep Rex working for Scott County.”
Drury said Rex’s trainer evaluated him and believes he still has much to offer as a K-9 officer.
“We appreciate those who have expressed an interest in homing Rex in his retirement, including two of his past handlers,” Drury said. “Rex is a valued member of Scott County Sheriff’s Office and has bonded not only with his handlers but also with our entire staff. We look forward in continuing with our canine program as we serve our community.”
During the meeting Scott County First District Commissioner Terry Cole said his personal thoughts are that Rex needed to be back with Juden.
“This dog has been sitting up there (in a kennel in Cape Girardeau) on taxpayer’s money; $2,000 has been spent. He’s in a cage. The dog has to be depressed,” Cole said.
He continued: “I laid in the hospital for quite a few months when I broke my neck. I know how this dog feels. We have not treated anyone this bad since our veterans came back from Vietnam.”
The room erupted in applause.
“Whatever it takes, I think we all need to band together and bring Rex back because right now he’s depressed,” Cole said.
Morley resident Amberlee LaFerney agreed.
“The reason I’m upset is because Rex was up there by himself, and as a dog, all he’s thinking about is: ‘All the people I love and care about have left me. What did I do wrong?’” LaFerney told the Commission.
Juden also spoke. He said the county would have to spend $6,000 for eight weeks of training for a new K-9 handler for Rex.
“The life expectancy of Rex is about a year left,” Juden told the Commission. “That would be a year of K-9 use for $6,000. For $12,000, you can get a brand-new, 1-year-old K-9 and trained — and have nine years of use out of it. It’s just simple math.”
Oesch said after consulting attorneys in other counties across the state, it’s her interpretation that Rex is considered county property.
Others from the emotional crowd said they were upset about the nearly 90 days Rex has spent in a “cage,” which they likened to animal abuse and cruelty.
“I’m not here for Hunter. I’m not here for anyone. I’m here for Rex. That’s what a lot of the people are here for,” one person in the crowd said.
Hunter Juden’s father, Drew Juden, former director of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety and Missouri Public Safety, addressed the Commission.
“I’m probably the only guy sitting in the room that has managed more K-9s than anybody else in the state,” Drew Juden said. “I managed all the K-9s in Sikeston we had over the years. When I went to work for Gov. (Eric) Greitens, I handled the highway patrol and all their K-9s. Never have I seen a dog-and-pony show as what’s going on here. This is a lack of leadership. It’s a lack of compassion, and the one thing that’s happened here that’s been lost is no one has thought about Rex.”
Drew Juden said in his experience, every dog could be retired with their handlers, which is a benefit to the K-9. It’s important to think about the K-9, he said.
“In all honestly, I have some personal stake in this,” Drew Juden said. “Hunter is my son. He did an excellent job for the county. Rex did an excellent job for the county, and this is how we’re going to retire him to reward him? This is totally ludicrous.”
Seven to nine years is the average service time for K-9s, he said.
“We always kept their interest at heart. That’s what’s being lost here,” Drew Juden said.
Morley resident Dee Cookson also noted Rex’s old age.
“Rex is 9,” Cookson said. “He may have cataracts soon. He may not be able to perform the duties of a drug dog. Dogs get arthritis around that age, and so the possibility of Rex having health issues doesn’t make him a good candidate to do re-training.”
Oesch also pointed out with with the legalization of marijuana in Missouri, that means a lot of changes with the K-9 program.
“It only makes sense, to me, that Mr. Juden should have the dog,” Scott County Second District Commissioner Donnie Kiefer concluded.
Kiefer, Cole and Scott County Presiding Commissioner Jim Glueck along with the presiding commissioner-elect Danny Tetley, who was in attendance, agreed Rex should go with Juden.
“We were voted in to be good stewards of your all’s money,” Cole told the crowd. “Right now I make a motion to go get the dog, bring the dog back and give him to Hunter.”
The room again erupted in applause, and Kiefer seconded the motion before they unanimously voted to approve it. Juden burst into tears after hearing their decision and hugged relatives and friends in attendance.
In a written order drafted by Oesch and signed by all three commissioners, the Commission ordered K-9 Rex to be released to Hunter Juden. The letter said: “The Scott County Commission has determined that K-9 Rex has met his time of service for the Scott County and its citizens. He is now 9 years old, and considering his age, the amount of money and time needed to retrain him for further service, it’s in Scott County’s best interest to retire the dog and deem him surplus property for Scott County.”
“I believe based on what the Commission heard today, as well as the research that we’ve done in regards to K-9 Rex, his service, other K-9s across the state of Missouri and the training going forward, I think the Commission is supported in their decision, and I think they’re within their legal bounds,” Oesch said.
Within an hour of the meeting ending, Juden posted on social media he had been reunited with Rex.
LaFerney, who less than a week ago started an online petition to reunite Rex and Juden which has since received over 12,400 signatures, thanked the commissioners “for standing up and doing what’s right” and Oesch for her assistance.
“Rex deserves it,” LaFerney said. “He can’t speak for himself and what he wants, and he deserves to live a happy retirement like anybody else would.”
Related links
- Petition aims to reunite K-9 with handler (12/09/22)