NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The entire Kansas City community has been mourning the loss of Officer James Muhlbauer and his partner Champ. But perhaps one of the deepest pain has been felt and shared by fellow canine officers and their handlers.
“He’s a great guy. I miss him tremendously,” said Sergeant Ryan Hubbell with the North Kansas City Police Canine Unit.
In more ways than one, Sergeant Hubbell is mourning the loss of family. Officer Muhlbauer and Champ were not only his cohorts, but one of the few who truly understood the depth of what they do daily.
“He would come out and decoy for us. He would wear the bite suit, you know, he would hide for us and work all these patrol problems and that’s how I got to know him,” said Hubbell. “He was a really solid guy. He was always there. He always stepped up to help and he was always willing to put the time in and do what he had to do to get the job done.”
The officers at the North Kansas City Police Department knew the special bond between both Champ and Muhlbauer was special. So they decided Champ needed to be brought to Officer Muhlbauer’s side at the hospital.
Hubbell and another canine officer, Jacob War, personally went to the crash scene to rescue Champ.
“We wanted Jim and Champ to be together and have that… continue that bond,” said Hubbell.
Hubbell says after the crash, he and other canine officers took turns standing watch with Champ for almost 48 hours.
Officer Chris Pickering was one of those officers who volunteered to stand watch.
“I think as a handler, that’s kind of your worst fear is to lose your partner,” said Pickering.
Pickering says the bond he shared with his canine, Mac, is something only a few understand.
“There’s a bond with police officers in general. You take a fraction of all those police officers and you have canine handlers,” said Pickering, “We got bonds with each other, we got bonds with the dogs, we got bonds with other people’s dogs so… it’s a tight knit group for sure.”
Pickering has personally known Muhlbauer for about five years and they trained together for decoy. During their time together, he says it was a privilege watching a special bond and dynamic shared between Muhlbauer and Champ.
“They have a saying, ‘Everything runs down the leash.’ And they say that each dog kind of mirrors their handlers so. Jim and Champ were definitely mirror image and they were perfect for each other,” said Pickering.
