White House protector and most decorated K-9 in US history dies: ‘a very good boy’

The most decorated K-9 in U.S. history has died. 

Hurricane, a 15-year-old Belgian Malinois, died Tuesday after more than a decade in the Secret Service. 

“Hurricane was a true American hero,” the White House X account posted Wednesday. “The most decorated K-9 in U.S. history, he bravely defended the White House and spent retirement helping other working dogs through @Hurricane_K9. His legacy of courage and loyalty will live on. Rest easy, Hurricane.” 

Hurricane gained national prominence back in 2014, when he heroically wrestled an intruder to the ground after the man breached the White House gate. 

The intruder, Dominic Adesanya, scaled the White House fence and landed on the North Lawn back in October 2014 during the Obama administration. The intruder, who later pleaded guilty to trespassing, was first met by a Secret Service dog named Jordan, before Hurricane jumped into action and subdued the intruder. 

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Former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were just yards away from the incident, watching a movie in the White House theater, according to The New York Times. 

“He beat Hurricane really bad,” Hurricane’s handler, Marshall Mirarchi, said Tuesday of the incident that left the K-9 with swollen legs and injured hips, according to Times. “But Hurricane did not give up.”

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Hurricane was born in 2009 and served as a special operations canine in the Secret Service from 2012 to 2016.

He received the Award for Meritorious Service from the Secret Service in 2014 for his bravery, as well as the Secretary’s Award for Valor from the Department of Homeland Security in 2015. He also received the Distinguished Service Medal in 2022, according to the Secret Service. 

“On every shift of every day, we at the Secret Service strive to uphold five core values; Duty, Honor, Loyalty, Justice, and Courage,” Uniformed Division Assistant Chief Michael Buck said in 2022 during the Distinguished Service Medal ceremony. “They are the five points of our agency’s star, and on a dark night in October 2014, they were embodied by a very good boy named Hurricane.”

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Hurricane visited the White House one last time before his death this week and was able to say goodbye to his former team, Mirarchi told the Times. 

Hurricane retired in 2016 following the injuries he sustained during the attack and was adopted by Mirarchi.

“What made Hurricane so special was that he could be so ferocious and brave, yet be so loving and kind at the same time,” Mirarchi told the Times. “He could be biting and doing apprehension all day long, and when he comes home, he was this loving, caring, kind soul.”