Ridgefield K-9 Officer Zeus to Take His Final Ride [PHOTOS]

Officer Zeus is an 11-year-old German Shepard with a degenerative hip disorder and after 8 years of K9 service with the Ridgefield Police Department, Zeus will be honored next Wednesday with a final ride through town.Zeus was instrumental in keeping drugs off the streets, hunting down criminals, and finding missing people.

According to the Ridgefield Police Department's Facebook page, Zeus was responsible for more than 250 narcotics arrests, which included the seizure of 10 pounds of pot in 2006. This K9 officer also performed hundreds of demonstrations for Ridgefield's youth.

Officer Zeus will ride with his handler, Officer Shawn Murray from police headquarters, down Main Street through the middle of town to the Ridgefield Veterinary Hospital.

Ridgefield residents are encouraged to line the sidewalks of Main Street to pay their respects.

Last March, Officer Murray noticed Zeus was walking differently and took him to the vet who told the Officer that Zeus had a degenerative hip disorder and only had six to 18 months to live.

Officer Zeus has lived with Murray and his wife for the last year and currently is barely able to walk. After Zeus's last ride he will be cremated and Officer Murray will take his ashes home to their final resting place.

"It's something I don't want to do, but I have to do it," Murray told the News-Times. "He's like my kid."