(Seguin) – K-9 Lorby was so much more than a pet or a crime fighting tool. For years, he was one of the most dedicated canines ever to report to duty at the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office. A special memorial service was recently held for Lorby who on Dec. 1, 2021, lost his battle to cancer. He died just two months after retiring from the sheriff’s office. Lorby, who was born in October 2010 in Czechoslovakia, began his service with the sheriff’s office in August of 2012.
Guadalupe County Sheriff Arnold Zwicke says Lorby first partnered with Cpl. Rudy Guarnero. He then finished out his career with Narcotics Inv. Rafael Pinilla.
Zwicke says as he looks back at Lorby’s nine years of service to the citizens of Guadalupe County, statistics show that he was very successful in helping deter crime.
“Lorby assisted his partners with hundreds of vehicle searches, school searches, warrant arrests, seizures of drugs and weapons and was excellent in his tracking skills. Not once did he fail to perform his duties or to not have his partner’s back,” said Zwicke.
Zwicke says the memorial service was also about providing comfort to his handlers and the relationships that he developed with each of them.
As a tribute to each of those special relationships, Zwicke read a few words – words submitted by both Guarnero and Pinilla.
He says Guarnero, who was there for most of the nine years, says Lorby was not only a great officer but an outstanding athlete.
“Rudy says of course in 2015, we remember, he came in second place overall in the National Narcotics Detector Dog Association in Paris Landing, TN. He also mentioned a traffic stop on 1-10 which resulted in $375,000 in cash seizure. He also wrote about a call for a robbery at the Sun Mart where the actor left on foot and into a field. Cpl. Guarnero and Lorby arrived and went to assist and track in the field. Cpl. Guarnero got on the ground for concealment behind Lorby who was trying to pull him to work. This went on for a bit as Lorby turned around and looked at Cpl. Guarnero like ‘come on, let’s get moving.” After a time, Lorby gets to a spot, stops, and barks and hands come up from under the dirt and grass where the suspect tried to bury himself,” reads Zwicke.
The final years, of course, were spent with Pinilla – a perfect match up according to Zwicke.
He reads, “Lorby served as my partner from March 2018 until his passing. Throughout my many years with Lorby, he did not just serve as my partner but as a member of my family. Despite him being a narcotics and tracking canine, my biggest highlights of Lorby come from the interactions of my six-year-old daughter. I feel those two were meant for one another. At times she would play UNO with Lorby and put his cards under his paws. As for work related highlights, Lorby also assisted with the arrest of over 100 individuals over a three-year span. But his biggest highlight comes from his sweetness and the kind of dog he was. Lorby loved to work, and he knew when canine training was from just hearing the alarm go off on Monday mornings at 6:30 a.m. He would spin around to the point that you would have to put him outside just to calm down” said Zwicke.
During the memorial service, Zwicke thanked the officers for creating such an outstanding team with Lorby.
“A fact that is hard to deal with at times when living with a working K-9 is we know that one day they will pass on. They work for us with such dedication that it is only fair they receive the same dedication from us. No one realizes the relationship and bond that is formed between an officer and his K9 partner. A K9 becomes a member of that officer’s family.
Although Lorby’s retirement was short lived, we were fortunate that he was able to remain as part of Inv. Pinilla’s family until his death December 1, 2021.”
Helping lead the service was Pastor Tom Jones, chaplain at Guadalupe Regional Medical Center. Jones paid tribute to all officers and their daily sacrifices.
“I believe all officers no matter what capacity you serve in canine or human, are all God blessed, are all God given, all God directed, and all God protected, and I thank you in a day when being an officer is difficult and very challenging, I want to say thank you and thank you for providing a memorial for these canines. That is very very important and very very meaningful to everyone I know that I told that we do this and thank you very much,” said Jones.
As part of the celebration, Zwicke also thanked Dr. Scott Bugai and his staff at Parkview Vet Clinic for the care they extended to Lorby. He also provided special thanks to Lynette Leanox of Heavenly Paws of Texas for “a beautiful memorial and cremation.”
The memorial service was held Wednesday at the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office.