Updated: Oct. 19, 2017
The newest member of the Lebanon Police Department, a 14-week-old German shepherd, went home on Oct. 11 with her new partner, Officer Eric Stein to begin bonding and training to detect narcotics.
The puppy has been named Lexi Honor after local residents participated in an electronic poll on the city’s Facebook page over the weekend, giving participants a chance to choose from five names: Honor, Lexi, Lilly, Zaybo and Nike. More than 1,000 people interacted with the poll, according to the city. Lexi, which is of Greek origin and means “defender,” and Honor – “respect” and “integrity,” were the two most popular names.
The Keaton Coffey Project K9’s for Vets presented LPD with the puppy at the Oct. 11 Lebanon City Council meeting.
The organization is named to remember and honor Corporal Keaton Grant Coffey, United States Marine Corps, who died while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan on May 24, 2012.
The KCP provides trained service dogs to veterans with PTSD and other disabilities as a result of service in the Armed Forces, but Grant Coffey, Keaton’s father thought his son would want a K9 donated to LPD.
Jeff Keller and his wife have been caring for Lexi Honor. Keller’s son Andrew was killed three months after Keaton.
“Keaton was a dog handler,” Keller said. “He was an MP in the Marines. And my wife and I have a love for dogs.”
Keller said the organization has the funds to provide training for “as far as you guys decide to take it.”
The new pup has an “amazing lineage,” Keller said.
“(Her) grandma was a police dog here in Oregon,” he said. “We are hoping we’ll be able to keep up with her as she becomes a member not only to the police department but to the Lebanon community.”
Lexi Honor is on the job and getting accustomed to riding in a patrol car, lights and sirens when responding to high-priority calls, people and shift work. Stein is working to gain her trust, according to a city statement.
Within the next few months she is due to begin training to become a certificated narcotics detection K9. She may also be used to help track suspects or find people lost in the 
woods.
The plan is for Lexi to be fully certified within a year.
“I know Officer Stein is going to do a fabulous job in training our new member,” said LPD Chief Frank Stevenson. “Words can’t describe how honored I am personally, and I know I speak on behalf of the police department.”