photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Patrol Service Dog Cheeseburger during his "Passing of the Leash" retirement ceremony on June 8, 2023, at the Lawrence Police Department headquarters.

A longtime Lawrence police dog died Wednesday at the family home where he had retired after eight years on the force.

“It is with a heavy heart that I share our sweet Cheeseburger boy passed away this morning,” said Nikki Ivener, the wife of Sgt. Ron Ivener. The couple had given Cheeseburger a home in his golden years. “He passed peacefully at home surrounded by family and love.”

Nikki Ivener said Cheeseburger lived the last two and a half years to the fullest with toys, treats, car rides and love.

“He fit into our family seamlessly and we will miss him terribly,” she said. “His goofy smile and silly attitude are forever imprinted on hearts.”

Cheeseburger, a German shepherd, retired at age 10 in June 2023 from the Lawrence Police Department’s K-9 unit.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Cpl. Matt Weidl pets Patrol Service Dog Cheeseburger during the dog’s retirement ceremony on June 8, 2023, at the Lawrence Police Department Headquarters.

Known by his colleagues as C.B., he started his career in 2015 and was one of the department’s first two patrol dogs, as the Journal-World has reported. Lawrence City commissioners in February 2015 unanimously passed a $36,000 proposal to create the first K-9 unit. Of that, $19,000 was earmarked to purchase two dogs, including Cheeseburger, with the rest going to equipping patrol vehicles for them and paying for vet bills and food.

Cpl. Matt Weidl was Cheeseburger’s longtime handler. At the retirement ceremony in 2023, he passed Cheeseburger’s leash off to Sgt. Ivener to care for him in retirement.

“He has been one of the greatest partners,” Weidl said at the ceremony. “He’s helped us solve a lot of things, locating some of the bad guys that we really needed to locate.”

Police Chief Rich Lockhart spoke at the ceremony, too, praising the work of Cheeseburger and his fellow K-9s with both Lawrence police and other area law enforcement agencies.

“Patrol service dogs are invaluable members of the department used to de-escalate dangerous situations and with … training in criminal apprehension, handler protection and narcotics detection,” he said.

The department’s current police dogs are Mack, Shadow and Taz.

photo by: Journal-World File

Cheeseburger trains for the Lawrence Police Department on Aug. 13, 2015.