VENTURA : Top K-9 Cop Is Remembered for Biting Crime

Ventura’s Aic von Hohenhamen was a tough cop, as tough as the rawhide he liked to chew.

In his 6 1/2 years on the force, Aic (pronounced Ike) assisted in nearly 400 arrests and apprehended about 75 suspects single-pawed.

Putting his life on the line was nothing new to Aic--he reveled in it and had the scars to prove it: a cracked skull, two artificial ligaments in his knees and a silver tooth.

But it was a foe that Aic couldn’t chase that finally got the best of him. After just one month of battling nose cancer and two years after retiring from the police force, Aic was euthanized Saturday at the recommendation of several veterinarians. He was 10 years old.

“It just happened so fast, I can’t believe it,” said Officer Jack Richards, fighting back tears. “It’s like losing my best friend.”

Richards worked with Aic for all six of the canine’s valorous years on the police force and then pampered him at home until last Saturday.

Born in Germany, Aic was a breed apart from the rest--a 105-pound Rottweiler when all the other K-9s at the department were smaller-framed German shepherds.

And few have pawed their way to being top dog at Ventura’s Police Department like Aic did. He was the only dog in the department’s history to win first place overall at a state competition.

The stories of Aic’s bravery and canine tenacity are legion.

Once he nearly put his head through the cruiser’s windshield to come to Richards’ aid.

“I’ve come up against the biggest, ugliest criminals with forearms the size of my legs, but Aic was always there to protect me,” Richards said. “He always kept an eye out for me.”

His reward? Buttermilk pancakes hot off the grill and a chance to rest his head on Richards’ shoulder in the squad car.

Aic had a nose that always knew.

“He could pick up a scent a quarter-mile away when the wind was right,” Richards said.

There was the time Aic located a robbery suspect hiding in the tall grass of Ventura’s fairgrounds right next to a police car after the search was called off.

And there was the time Aic located a carjacker in a two-square-mile lemon orchard.

But many of Aic’s toughest confrontations were with schoolchildren.

Even in retirement, Aic made his rounds to area schools, where children tried to pull his tongue, ears and whiskers.

“He was so gentle and patient with children,” Richards said.

Aic was a serious dog: He slept in the patrol car so he would never miss a call, and he never slacked on the job.

“If he had the choice of a bowl of food, a dog in heat or a chase, he’d take the chase,” Richards said.

But Aic also had a sense of humor. He will always be remembered by the Fire Department for relieving himself on Pluggy the remote control fire hydrant at a safety fair, and his two favorite comfort stations were right outside City Hall and the Police Department.