'You just keep going': Retired St. Francis K-9 Bane continues to fight as paralysis progresses

ST. FRANCIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A beloved police K-9 in Southeastern Wisconsin is reminding us why time is precious. 

Retired St. Francis Police K-9 Bane and his handler Detective Holly McManus are navigating a disease causing Bane's body to slowly break down.

"We're just preparing for the next steps," McManus said.

Last week, Bane came home from a weekly therapy appointment with a "grief folder," McManus wrote on K-9 Bane's Facebook page. 

"The vet noticed that his left leg was faltering a little bit more," McManus told CBS 58.

This is a new development that McManus has been preparing for since Bane was first diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy earlier this year. The disease will likely take his life.

"It hits hard, but then you get back up the next morning and you just keep going," McManus said.

The K-9 has been getting adjusted to walking with a wheelchair and special harness, which McManus said is going to be even more necessary these days.

"When we go for walks and he just drags his back feet, then we will lift them," McManus said.

Through it all, the detective said Bane still finds joy in being a dog.

"When I say his spirit is still there, he's still, you know, that, that grumpy old man, but yet let's get to work," McManus said.

His work will forever be honored with a legacy statue, expected to be placed in front of the St. Francis Civic Center this spring.

"We measured everything from the width and height of his ears to the circumference of his snout, his tail, the width of his paws," McManus said.

The K-9 Bane Hero Fund has raised more than $20,000, according to McManus.

The donations will help pay for the statue and Bane's weekly therapy treatments.

"Just today, I had a gentleman drive down from Sheboygan County and donate cash to his fundraiser and cry because of how much this has affected everybody," McManus said.

While McManus prepares for the inevitable, she finds comfort in knowing that Bane touched so many lives in the community. 

Donations can be made to the K-9 Bane Hero Fund here.