The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Inseparable in life, death
Geauga Sheriff’s retired mini K-9 cop, Midge, dies same day as her master
Some dog owners believe their pets can sense their pain, emotional or otherwise.
It is likely that late Geauga County Sheriff Dan McClelland had such a bond with K-9 officer Midge, his constant companion of 15 years.
McClelland died at age 67 April 14 at UH Medical Center in Cleveland.
“The family came home from the hospital and Midge died shortly thereafter,” said Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand, who succeeded McClelland in 2017.
It was discovered last year that McClelland had a brain tumor, the sheriff said.
“I truly think that Midge knew,” he said. “She was sick also, and it was just time.”
Midge was 16.
When McClelland retired in 2016, so did Midge, the rat terrier-Chihuahua mix that still held the Guinness World Record as the smallest certified police dog.
She joined the force in early 2006 as a pup, from a litter owned by a department employee. McClelland took one look at her, and the two had been inseparable ever since.
“They plan to bury her with Dan,” Hildenbrand said.
Midge garnered worldwide recognition after a News-Herald reporter noticed her with the sheriff and decided to do a feature story.
It eventually was picked up by national — and international — media, leading to guest appearances on TV shows with Geraldo Rivera, Ellen DeGeneres and “The CBS Morning Show.”
After reports of Midge obtaining her drug-sniffing certification, there came an email from Guinness
World Records asking for her measurements.
She was wildly popular with the public and a great goodwill ambassador for the Sheriff’s Office.
“I think Midge will be missed a lot both by the deputies that she interacts with at the Sheriff’s Office and the community,” McClelland said in 2014, when he announced he wouldn’t seek re-election. “Children adore her, and even adults are drawn to her.”