Lisa

(From the Jasper County Sheriff's Office)

It is with great sorrow and sadness to report, K9 Lisa, (retired), has succumbed to cancer after battling health issues since June.

K9 Lisa has been a big part of the Jasper County Sheriff's Office by being a constant familiar face and having over 8 years of working longevity.

Lisa, originally named Lyssa, served many roles over her long career to include; a K9 trained to detect and locate explosives, trailing criminal suspects, she has aided in locating lost people and children, located items of evidence value, served as a public relations liaison between law enforcement and the community, was a friend to scared and frightened children, comforted people who experienced tragic incidents, and Lisa worked hard, without formal training, as a comfort tool for law enforcement officers after experiencing long and sometimes critical days. K9 Lisa kept an ever protective watch over her handler, Cpl. Matt Smith, from dangerous situations and was a reliable constant in his back seat, she always had his six...

Cpl. Smith and Lisa were fortunate to have opportunities to train and deploy with some best people. The team has trained with dozens of different law enforcement agencies over the years as well as the US Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security, tier one groups of the US Navy, US Army, and the US Marines. Lisa was originally trained through the US Air Force and donated to the Sheriff's Office when the need arose for Jasper County to have a bomb dog. That top notch training continued once the team began work protecting our county under the watchful eye of Sgt. Tom Crossley, the team's mentor and trainer. Once K9 Lisa and Cpl. Smith were ready to work and deploy, their response area for explosive related calls grew quickly to include a response radius from Joplin to cover more than 2 hours away. Some say when the two met, it was love at first sight. When the two first met at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Lisa attached herself to Cpl. Smith so quickly, when it was time for her to return to her kennel so paperwork could be completed for her adoption, Lisa attacked the kennel helper to stay by Matt's side. From that point forward, the team would not be separated from each other for very long.

Over the past 8 years the team has responded to several bomb threats, too many to recall. Deployed on over 50 security details for dignitaries to include the President of the United States, as well as 2 former Presidents, the First Lady, as well as 3 former First Ladies, Presidents and Prime Ministers from foreign countries, the Director of the Department of Homeland Security, United States Cabinet members, and Congress members.

The dynamic duo have been called upon for special assignments and loaned out to other law enforcement agencies for their unique skills. The team has worked with members of the DEA, ATF, DHS, FBI, US Secret Service, and assorted non descript government agencies to locate weapons, altered firearms, commercial explosives, military explosives, as well as homemade explosives.

Over Lisa's career, she's had literally 100s of positive encounters within the community either at events where the Sheriff's Office was represented or in our area schools. Many times while at a gas station, people would approach Cpl. Smith and ask questions about Police work and about being a K9 handler. Times like these presented a perfect opportunity to introduce Lisa to the public and educate them about the jobs that working dogs perform and how they benefit their communities.

No one truly knows the special bond between a K9 handler and their partner. At the end of the day a K9 is just a dog at heart, by no means is it only just a dog...

Lisa's most amazing attribute was being an amazing partner and best friend for her Dad, Cpl. Smith.