Mentor City Council has established the necessary accounts within the police K-9 fund in the amount of approximately $250,000 received from the Irene G. Greene Endowment. At the Sept. 17 council meeting, not long after a remembrance ceremony was held to honor K-9 Achilles who died from a sudden medical issue in mid-August, Mentor City Manager Ken Filipiak detailed the benefit of the trust set up by the Concord Township resident and called it “very timely”. Greene established the endowment in 2002 and she died in 2023. The funds will go toward training, pet supplies, food, vests, veterinary expenses and purchase of additional K-9s. Filipiak said the department does plan on re-establishing a second K-9 unit after the death of Achilles. “Our thanks goes out to Irene Greene for thinking of us because that is very, very generous,” Council President Sean Blake said. At the remembrance ceremony, Blake added that Achilles was a “winner” and beloved by all who came within 10 feet of him. Filipiak also spoke at the ceremony closing his remarks by saying that while Achilles can never be replaced, the hope is the next K-9 can serve the public as well as he did. Chief Ken Gunsch said Mentor Police has had a K-9 unit since 1981 and have had 16 dogs over that time, including Achilles, who joined the department in 2019. The chief stressed that while the responsibility of the K-9 includes searching for missing people, suspects, drugs, crowd control and many other law enforcement related tasks, they are great in the community and well received by the public. “Our dogs are loved in the community and we love sharing them with the public,” Gunsch said. He also added that a special bit of gratitude should be shown to Mentor Municipal Court Judge John Trebets who is a big supporter of the K-9 program. Achilles handler Patrolman Terry Wurgler also spoke at the ceremony, thanking his fellow officers, the fire department and K-9 handlers from other departments who reached out and showed support.