An officer's last day

WASILLA — Wasilla Police Department code enforcement officer Mike Rager isn’t a “shirt and tie kind of guy” but he wore the same shirt and tie he put on for his first day of work with the city on his last day of work, coming full circle with no regrets.

As a WPD administrator made her way through the parking lot to head home for the day, she stopped and joked with Rager, asking him, “you’re still in your monkey suit?” They both laughed and said their goodbyes.

“Man, it’s been a fun ride. I wouldn’t change it for nothing,” Rager said.

Rager’s career with the city of Wasilla brought him through numerous positions, ranging from public works and road maintenance to serving as a reserves officer with WPD. He said that he’s gone through five mayors, 10 police chiefs, and three facilities with the department.

“I’ve had the full gambit,” Rager said.

Rager said that he shaved his “ZZ top beard” to support his dog mushing habit in the 90’s and started his career with the city in a seasonal temp position.

‘I was self-employed 20-plus years. That was scary getting a real job,” Rager said.

Rager became a reserve officer in 1996 after taking a ride along with a WPD officer.

“Twenty minutes into it he was in pursuit, and I was hooked,”I didn’t even know what a reserve officer was... I chopped off all that hair and the beard... and low and behold I passed.”

He said WPD created the code enforcement officer position in 2004, but he didn’t get it until the following year. He said his combined experience across numerous positions with the city made him an ideal candidate for the position.

“Everybody’s got a pet peeve… One thing I’ve never done is parked in a handicap spot... that just pissed me off,” Rager said.

Early in his career in code enforcement, Rager made it his mission to crack down on people illegally parking in handicap spaces. He said that he got approval to start writing tickets at the post office and eventually expand well beyond that.

“It was like shooting fish in a barrel and started wrist handicap tickets. And the word got out… Lots of people called in, not to complain but to say ‘it’s about time,’” Rager said. “There’s people in this town who love me. There are people in this town who hate me. You can’t please everybody.”

Rager has always been passionate about animals, especially dogs. While his mushing career was just a “phase,” his commitment to canines, felines and all other kinds of pets never faltered. He said that animal cruelty and other animal codes fall under his line of duties, so he went full force on his crusade to save as many pets as he could.

“I kind of came into my own,” Rager said. “I would pride myself in that fact that... if someone called with animal complaints, I’m there in 15 minutes.”

Rager said the job came with many highs and lows, that he cried many times with a dead animal in his arms on the side of the road. He said that once he figured out how to use Facebook, he saw immediate success in reconnecting lost pets to their owners, even being able to track down and charge animal abusers.

“Half the time, there’s the dog in my truck right there,” Rager said. “It worked. As crazy as it sounds, it worked… It’s a tool like anything else.”

Rager used to have 22 dogs during his mushing phase. He currently has six dogs and a cat. They all have tags. He said he’s garnered a nickname over the years, the “tag nag.”

“That’s another one of my pet peeves, people don’t put tags on their dogs,” Rager said. “I’ve been relelentless with these pet groups. It’s 7 dollars for a tag, 7.”

Rager has invested countless hours of personal time and countless dollars from his personal savings to provide free tags to people in the community. At one point, he provided 308 tags out of Pet Zoo to local pet owners.

“I took a lot of crap, but it’s something that’s important to me,” Rager said.

Rager moved to the Valley in 1989. He eventually moved to the Big Lake area and spent the last 14 years there.

“When you have somebody who retires after a long time like me... one of the guys came up to me and said, ‘we’re stumped. We don’t know what to get you…’ I told them he wanted a [pet] chip scanner,” Rager said. “And guess what I got.”

Rager held up a brand new chip scanner that he intends to use on his never ending mission to save pets across the Valley.

“I’m still gonna be involved,” Rager said.

Rager said that despite himself, he got choked up during his farewell ceremony. He said that his badge is a “symbol of public trust.”

“I’ve tried all these years to never forget that. I serve the people of the city,” Rager said. “This will sound cheesy, but I hope I did a good enough job. I’ve tried my darndest... and I hope it was good enough.”

Rager said that he expects a lot of calls from WPD for advice until they replace him, which he has no qualms about.

“I wore tan and they wore blue but we’re all family,” Rager said.

Rager said that he has plenty to keep him husky during retirement. He plays adult hockey and is very involved with local softball leagues.

“I just turned 65... let’s just say I’ve slowed down. I come from a generation most young people don’t know about. I’ve got a humble little home... I’m just gonna be a stay at home dog dad. I always have something to putz around with… I think my plan at this point is to enjoy my life at my own pace,” Rager said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com