It was a friendship founded on food. A match made in McDonald’s. A bond built at Burger King.
Radar the Belgian Malinois was just one year old when he started training with Sgt. Eamon O’Reilly, 49, an officer of nearly 20 years with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, in Oregon.
Now, nine years into their partnership, not only do they perform their duty catching bad guys together, but also have built a bond based partially on sharing lunch in Sgt. O’Reilly’s cruiser.
What’s more, they’ve attracted a hefty following on social media—and gone viral together.
The crime-stopping compadres have been featured on news segments, showing the man in the driver’s seat, his furry partner popping his head up front for a morsel.
“Snack breaks are fun,” Sgt. O’Reilly told The Epoch Times. “He gets to take a bite, and I get to take a bite.”
One of Radar’s newest tricks involves being able to eat from an assortment of utensil types.
“He’s learned how to eat off of a fork. We’ve used chopsticks before to share noodles. We ate a burrito together,” the officer said. “It’s amusing to me to see what sort of utensil I can use to deliver the food to Radar.”
In the beginning, the officer wasn’t an animal lover. They were both new at this whole training thing. Their early interactions were characterized by frustration as both were learning the ropes.
“He’s my first police dog,” Sgt. O’Reilly said, adding that he’s “a little goofy.”
“I was a little worried because he looked like he was going to be a little difficult to control.”
But as Radar’s skills in tracking criminals on the run sharpened, the officer’s confidence in him grew—and so did their friendship.
Radar and Sgt. O’Reilly do pretty much everything together. They love running, working, and eating side by side, day in and day out.
Yet even though Radar lives at his partner’s house, he is no pet; Radar lives outside, according to policy.
Nor is Radar particularly friendly (except toward Sgt. O’Reilly) as pets should be. The K9 was trained to intimidate criminals with his ferocious bark and, yes, bite when let loose.
In fact, there is nothing Radar would rather do than hunt animals, the officer said, adding that he “would hunt down and kill the cat” if he lived in the house.
A pet he definitely is not.
Their ticket to fame arrived on New Year’s Day. Radar and Sgt. O’Reilly were on a call and were hot on the scent of a male felon who had fled on foot. The duo, along with their cover officer, found themselves passing through a busy park, closing on the suspect.
In such pursuits, Sgt. O’Reilly watches only his dog—Radar’s body language and level of focus speak volumes. Man and dog act as one.
Their cover officer takes care of the rest, watching their back, and tackling the criminal at the crucial moment.
That day, neither the children, parents, nor pets playing in the park mattered to Radar. He was honed in on a fresh human scent and persistent.
“He just kept pulling me through the park, so I knew he was on the right odor,” Sgt. O’Reilly said.
On their nearing some bushes, the suspect suddenly bolted, outing himself on seeing the officers and dog approaching.
That’s when Radar’s aggressive bark resounded and apparently instilled such fear in the suspect, that he chose to surrender rather than face Radar on the loose.
Following K9 training protocol, the dog was then handed his toy from Sgt. O’Reilly as an on-the-spot reward for good behavior.
The real reward would come later.
“When Radar captures somebody or helps us capture somebody, then he gets a special treat,” the officer said, adding that Radar “can eat just about anything” and is used to sharing cold lunches, though above all “his favorite is hot food.”
That day, Radar feasted on a hamburger and fries from McDonald’s.
“He gets really, really excited, and he doesn’t want to share with me,” the officer said. “He almost comes all the way up into the front seat to get it.”
As the furry friend’s head appeared next to the officer, it dawned on him to film their chow session. And, on sharing the cute clip on social media, they went viral.
Many comments came in, along with suggestions for new restaurants and dishes to try. A few mentioned how Radar shouldn’t be eating junk food, though the officer wants them to know that Radar is “a little bit special” and can stomach things that many other dogs cannot.
And the rest was history.
Now, having garnered viral fame, Sgt. O’Reilly said that connecting with others from all around the world has been his biggest reward.
He is motivated to share their food-based friendship online to let the world peer into the lives of law enforcement officers—both humans and dogs.
“I want people to see that police officers and police dogs—they’re just people and dogs,” he said. “Even though we have a job to do … we have the same type of relationship that everyone else has with their dogs.”
