Fang was a highly trained K9 for JSO until his life was cut short while pursuing an armed robber in October 2018. Fang successfully caught the culprit, who was in the process of stealing a vehicle and attempting kidnapping, but unfortunately didn’t make it. The Jacksonville Icemen honored Fang by naming their own husky pup after the fallen K9.
Fang 2.0 was first adopted on Oct. 12 from the humane society and given his name in a fan vote, just a few weeks after the JSO K9 Fang was killed while on duty. This story took over the minor league hockey community. Fang ran for mascot of the year, with the hopes of winning the whole thing, but ultimately lost out to the Reading Royals mascot, Slapshot. He’ll try again this year, and with a little more steam and attention behind Fang’s background, I believe he’ll have a good shot at winning 2020 mascot of the year.
Sometimes unfortunate situations happen, and we try to make the best of it. That’s what the Icemen did when they chose to adopt Fang and honor the fallen K9 pup of the same name. It’s a sad story but a happy ending with a new beginning for a legacy. Although the Icemen are off to a rough start this season with a couple overtime losses, it’s still early enough to bounce back, and with Fang on our side, there’s a good chance we will.
Written by: Jack Thompson
