MONTAGUE — James Ruddock, an officer with the Montague Police Department, met his partner for the first time in 2014. The puppy named Artur, affectionately called “Artie,” would prove to live up to the meaning of his name during his years of service to the region.

“His name means noble and courageous,” Ruddock said. “And he lived up to his name.”

After nearly a decade of service, Artie was euthanized at 6:02 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2, following a sudden cancer diagnosis the day before. The Montague Police Department announced Artie’s death on Facebook on Thursday, giving thanks for Artie’s K-9 work and extending its appreciation to Greenfield’s Pioneer Valley Veterinary Hospital, Dr. Lisa Underwood and her staff for their help.

Artie’s career

During his nearly decade-long career with the Montague Police Department, Artie had many successful missions with Ruddock and became something of a local celebrity. The K-9 from Slovakia was brought to the department from a shelter in Pennsylvania, three years after he was born in December 2012.

Artie was trained through the North American Police Work Dog Association as a patrol and narcotics dog. Tracking, evidence recovery, training in different search locations and conditions, narcotics detection and aggression control were all part of his resume. Over the years, Artie responded to incidents in Erving, Greenfield and other nearby communities, though he remained a member of the Montague Police.

The training helped Artie complete several missions, including the discovery of 500 bags of heroin in 2019 in Greenfield. This led to two arrests, and Ruddock said other narcotics discoveries earned Artie the Enrique Camarena Award from the Massachusetts Elks Association and the Public Safety Committee in 2018.

Before Artie could earn these accolades, though, Ruddock was able to put his teammate to the test after his training. One day, during a walk with Artie, he came across a man who lost his glasses in an area of brush and vines. This was an opportunity to see what young Artie could do.

“I gave him his command to search for evidence, and he goes in the thicket of brush covered with vines and leaves,” Ruddock said. “Then I look and I see his tail, and I see he’s laying down. It’s the same alert as if it was narcotics. … I shine my flashlight in there, and his nose is directly pointing at this set of thick glasses. That’s when I was like, ‘Wow, he’s good.’”

Outside of his narcotics detection skills and ability to locate lost glasses, Artie was responsible for finding several lost people — something Ruddock spoke of emotionally.

Ruddock recalled the time a 42-year-old woman and her 4-year-old son were lost while hiking on Mount Sugarloaf in Sunderland, and he and Artie were part of the search team. Ruddock said he was familiar with the area, but Artie would be searching for human odors in a challenging terrain.

“In a situation like that, we didn’t know where they went in [and] they didn’t know where they were. I was familiar with the area, so I kind of had a decent area to check,” Ruddock said. “And in that situation, that would be where area search would come in. We don’t have a specific track to go in, but he’s gonna alert toward the human odor.”

As they approached the lost hikers, Ruddock said the child called out Artie’s name.

“We get closer and I hear someone yelling,” Ruddock said, adding, “The child starts yelling [Artie’s] name.”

With a lump in his throat, Ruddock said this was a memorable moment. He owed the child’s recognition of Artie to the years of demonstrations, fundraising campaigns and community presence, showing the impact this K-9 has had.

‘It’s not a replacement’

When Artie started showing signs of discomfort and the decision to euthanize him was made, Ruddock knew the decision would have implications bigger than himself.

“I was a little overwhelmed at first, because I knew when I had to make the decision that I am putting down my dog,” he said. “But I’m also putting down a community dog who was really well-known.”

It wasn’t until Artie’s death was announced that Ruddock could see just how impactful Artie was. Phone calls, text messages and emails flooded in, expressing condolences to Ruddock while neighboring police and fire departments and community members shared their appreciation for Artie on the Montague Police Department’s Facebook announcement.

“One of the fastest tracking dogs I’ve seen do work. ... So much that I felt compelled to trust that he could effectively track my wallet with all my IDs and $500 cash in it at a demonstration,” Fred Lowenthal commented.

The Greenfield Police Department said the partnership between Ruddock and Artie made them “a phenomenal part of the law enforcement community.”

The Facebook post, with more than 200 comments and nearly 900 reactions, added to the messages Ruddock said he’s been going through.

“I was finding great solace in it with all the stuff coming in, because it kept me busy,” Ruddock said.

Ruddock keeps a folder of newspaper clippings and letters about Artie, many of which express appreciation for some action or service by the team, “but getting confirmation of that now because of the show of support, it’s confirming how well-known he was and the impact he made.”

Despite still feeling the grief from the loss of his partner and friend, Ruddock said when the time is right, he’ll be ready to have a new K-9.

“I’m ready, but I have to remember and work hard at knowing that it’s not a replacement,” Ruddock said.

Ruddock explained that community generosity has helped the pair immensely over the years, and will continue after Artie’s death. Community donations to the Montague Canine Fund and an anonymous donor called “Artie’s guardian angel” helped pay for the police cruiser for Artie, along with other expenses for his care. One donation of $20,000 by the late Elaine Cuthbert in 2020 will help Ruddock and the department as this next phase begins of finding a new partner for Ruddock.

Ruddock understands no dog will ever be just like Artie, both in personality and drive.

“It’s gonna be different, not gonna be the same,” he said of getting a new K-9. “It’s gonna bring me back to little things that we already did out in the car that just made me laugh.”

Now that Artie has ended his watch on Montague and the broader region, Ruddock anticipates a new dog will come his way sooner rather than later, but “that dog definitely has big paws to fill.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.