Colorado police officer, K-9 continue recovery after life-changing, line-of-duty stabbing

It's been five months since an Aurora police officer and his K-9 partner were stabbed, and their recovery is far from over. The career the officer once envisioned finishing alongside his dog has changed permanently.

Officer Mark Moore has undergone about five surgeries since he was attacked on April 9 while responding to a mental health call. His most recent procedure was Wednesday, when doctors attempted to place a cochlear implant to address hearing loss caused by his injuries.

Moore suffered a severed temporal artery, facial fractures, damage to his jaw and other serious injuries when he was stabbed while responding to an apartment complex on East Stanford Circle in Aurora. 

His K-9 partner, Cyrus, was also hurt in the stabbing. 

Police said officers and a crisis response team had been trying to de-escalate a situation involving a man experiencing a mental health crisis before the man ran from the apartment armed with a knife. Moore shot and killed the man during the attack. 

Moore believes his partner helped save his life.

"Cyrus is the one that got the guy's attention," Moore said. "That got him slowed down from going around the corner."

Moore said the months since have brought physical and emotional challenges he did not expect.

"I still have a hard time realizing that those were the injuries that I had," Moore said. "Things are different. Things are just different."

Moore said previous injuries had allowed him to return to work relatively quickly. This recovery has been different. He intends to return to the Aurora Police Department; although, he does not yet know what his new assignment will be. What he does know is that he will not return as a K-9 officer.

"I'll never run code to another call. I'll never get to go out with Cyrus and have him do his job, and that's what really bothers me the most," Moore said.

Moore had hoped to remain in the K-9 unit until he was ready to leave on his own terms.

"You never know when your last call is going to be. You never know when your last code run is going to be," Moore  said. "I just didn't realize that was going to be my last call."

Cyrus' working days are also coming to an end. Moore said the dog is dealing with spinal problems and remains on medication. He plans to officially adopt Cyrus from the city of Aurora for $1 once his retirement is finalized.

The two have spent years working together. Moore said Cyrus would routinely put a paw on the center divider of their police vehicle so the two could hold hands.

After the stabbing, Moore wondered whether that tradition would carry over to his personal vehicle.

"Sure enough, he put his paw up there, and we held hands," Moore said.

Moore and his family are now receiving support from the MC-1 Foundation, a Colorado nonprofit that assists first responders who survive serious line-of-duty injuries.

The foundation was created following the 2014 line-of-duty death of sheriff's Sgt. Dave Baldwin in Jefferson County, who was killed while riding his police motorcycle. MC-1 takes its name from Baldwin's radio call sign.

Foundation president Mark Miller said the organization eventually realized that, while families of first responders killed in the line of duty often have several organizations offering assistance, seriously injured survivors can face a different set of challenges for months or years.

"We, as a community, kind of forget about our survivors," Miller said.

Miller said injured first responders can lose income from overtime and off-duty work while they recover, on top of the physical and emotional toll of a long-term injury.

MC-1 says it has provided more than $500,000 to 65 first responders across Colorado during its 13-year history. The organization is run entirely by volunteers.

Moore said accepting help did not come naturally.

"As officers, we're pretty prideful, and we don't want a lot of help, and we don't realize the help that we need," he said.

Moore will be the beneficiary of the MC-1 Foundation's 13th annual Honor Run motorcycle fundraiser on Sunday, Sept. 27.

The ride begins at Columbine High School in Littleton. Onsite registration opens at 8 a.m., followed by an opening ceremony at 9:15 a.m. The first motorcycles are scheduled to leave at 10 a.m.

Riders will finish at Main Event in Thornton.

Registration costs $40 for a single rider and $50 for a rider with a passenger. People who do not ride motorcycles can also donate directly through the MC-1 Foundation.

"I want Mark to see that there's a large part of the community that does support him and that wants to come out and help and do something," Miller said.

For Moore, that continued support has become an important part of a recovery he never expected to face.

"We're all human," he said. "The help that we get just with the text messages or the phone calls is the thing that really helps us out the most."