Officer and His Dog Sit for Official Photoshoot, but the Cute K-9 Can’t Take It Seriously

Illustration - Shutterstock

The old saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” has never been so literal, or, for that matter, so cute. Kenobi the K-9 and his human counterpart, Conservation Officer Levi Knach, truly love each other; their bond is unbreakable. We’ve got the photos to prove it. But unfortunately, there’s a time and a place for affection, and posing for official portrait photos isn’t one of them!

The pair are members of Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) law enforcement agency, and during a recent departmental photoshoot, they were asked to sit side by side and look forward at the camera. Sit side by side they did, but the proximity of his colleague, trainer, and best buddy in the whole world was just too much for Kenobi to resist. The dog could not sit still; he had other ideas. Just look for yourself because the snaps are adorable!

Indiana State Parks uploaded the photo outtakes in a hilarious Facebook post, captioned: “Indiana Conservation Officer Levi Knach and his K-9 partner Kenobi show some puppy love in their portrait ‘attempt.’ Kenobi is cute,” they clarified, “but make no mistake, he is a trained, working officer and can track people and locate a variety of objects ranging from venison to ginseng.”

Gosh. Well, kudos to cutie K-9 Kenobi, who can clearly mix business with play time.

Knach, to his credit, is doing his utmost to behave appropriately and pose sensibly. Kenobi on the other hand may just as well have been told that Knach’s cheek is covered in peanut butter. He can’t resist covering his colleague in kisses, and the result, quite naturally, is that Knach is tickled into submission and can’t keep a straight face. He breaks into a smile, and it’s infectious!

The officer is eventually able to compose himself, readjust his uniform, and take the winning shot. Both Knach and Kenobi look for all intents and purposes like a pair of thoroughly calm, sensible, serious law enforcement officers in the final snap. If you hadn’t seen the full reel, you'd be none the wiser.

DNR Corporal Rodney Clear had something to say about his now-internet famous colleagues. “[Officer Knach] and Kenobi constantly train for the unfortunate situations of locating missing persons, locating evidence from criminal activity, and detecting illegally taken wildlife,” he told The Dodo. Clear, true to his wonderful name, very much wanted to make clear that despite the pair’s hilarious portrait photo shenanigans, the work they do is very important and very appreciated indeed.

“He is a true example of a leader and servant,” Clear added, speaking highly of Officer Knach.

Loyalty and partnership entail the rough and the smooth, the good times and the bad, the criminals and the victories, and every once in a while a good lick on the cheek. We’re happy to see that the rumors are true; K-9 officers and their police dogs really are the very best of friends.

Long may it continue, Kenobi and Knach. Thanks for the smiles; you’ve made our day!