A tribute to Hurricane, the most decorated K-9 in White House history

The Belgian Malinois rose to fame more than a decade ago when he spotted a man hopping the White House fence. Hurricane, a Secret Service canine, kept his jaws locked onto the intruder’s arm even as the man kicked, punched and slammed him into the North Lawn. The dog pinned the man in place so authorities could take him into custody.

Hurricane was lauded for protecting President Barack Obama and his family, who were home at the time. But Hurricane’s owner, Marshall Mirarchi, who was working that night as a Secret Service officer, saw something else.

“I basically had a dog that was willing to die for me,” Mirarchi said. “He knows: ‘Dad is behind me. Do not let this guy get to Dad.’”

Now, Mirarchi is celebrating Hurricane’s life. The 15-year-old died in Alexandria, Virginia, on Feb. 12, Mirarchi said.

Since the October 2014 incident at the White House, Mirarchi said he has tried to repay Hurricane for his loyalty, giving him lots of bacon-flavored treats and creating a nonprofit organization in his name to raise money for retired law enforcement and military dogs’ veterinary care.

Hurricane, who retired in 2016, won national and international awards for stopping the intruder. The White House said Wednesday that he was the most decorated K-9 in U.S. history.

“He could work and be the hardest, most ferocious, fearless dog,” said Mirarchi, 41. “And then two minutes later, he could be sitting in your lap, just wanting to get pet.”

Hurricane, who had a black coat and brown eyes, joined the Secret Service’s K-9 unit in November 2012 and was paired with Mirarchi. Hurricane underwent more than four months of training at the Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland, learning to bite hard, jump high and react quickly to security threats. When Hurricane was promoted to guarding the White House, he jumped and spun in excitement from the back seat each time Mirarchi drove onto the property.

On October 22, 2014, Hurricane was 6 years old when he spotted a man jumping the White House fence. The intruder fought off another Secret Service canine, Jordan, when he was about halfway across the North Lawn. But then Hurricane, who weighed almost 30kg, charged in for a brawl that lasted a few seconds before Hurricane knocked the man to the ground.

The suspect, 23-year-old Dominic Adesanya, was taken to a hospital with injuries from a dog bite. Hurricane’s body was covered in bruises, bumps and blood, Mirarchi said, and he was taken to a veterinarian. Mirarchi said he worried Hurricane would die of his injuries.

The next day, the Secret Service posted photos of Hurricane and Jordan on social media and said a veterinarian cleared them to work. But Hurricane was never as nimble again, Mirarchi said.

In July 2015, Adesanya was sentenced to time served and a year of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds. His family said that Adesanya struggled with mental illness and wanted to speak with Obama about spying devices he believed were in his family’s Bel Air, Maryland, home.

Hurricane and Mirarchi received the Secretary’s Award for Valor by the Department of Homeland Security, an honor that recognises acts of heroism, in November 2015.

In September 2016, Hurricane retired due to his health. While Hurricane loved playing with Kong toys, Mirarchi said he still trained Hurricane, who was accustomed to practicing biting with his four titanium teeth that bolstered his grip.

In December 2016, the Animal Medical Center in New York City named Hurricane one of its annual top dogs, covering his postretirement medical bills, Mirarchi said.

Marshall said he struggled to work without Hurricane, so he retired in 2017 after working with the Secret Service for more than a decade. Mirarchi said he found another purpose: He wanted other retired K-9s to receive free veterinary care, so he founded his nonprofit, K9 Hurricane’s Heroes, in the following years. He and Hurricane traveled the world for charity events, where Hurricane played with children. Mirarchi partnered with Kinetic Dog Food to make a bacon-flavored treat called Hurricane Bites.

People across the world also celebrated Hurricane years after he stopped the intruder.

In October 2019, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, a British veterinary charity, gave Hurricane its Order of Merit. The honor is the animal equivalent of the Order of the British Empire, which the royal family has awarded for charitable and public service works for more than a century. In March 2022, Hurricane was given a Distinguished Service Medal from the award body Animals in War and Peace.

But Mirarchi could tell this month that Hurricane’s days were short-lived. On Feb. 11, Hurricane flew on an American flag-themed Southwest Airlines plane from Colorado to Baltimore, where Secret Service members who worked with Hurricane greeted him outside his gate. Mirarchi rolled Hurricane in a wagon because he struggled to walk.

The next day, Hurricane visited the White House for the final time. Hurricane’s former Secret Service colleagues presented him with a plaque with his name on it and an American flag. Mirarchi declined to say whether Hurricane was euthanized, but after the White House visit, Mirarchi said he and about a dozen of his former colleagues gathered around Hurricane as he died.

“I want his story to live on,” Mirarchi said. “So that’s how I pay it forward for him: to just keep telling his story. And if I keep doing that, then he’s always still here.”  |  The Washington Post