PLEASE
feel free to send condolences to officers with P.D. addresses below.
In
Loving Memory of
K-9
"CHASE"
December
31, 2001
Partner:
Patrol Officer
Robert Gooding
City
of Beacon (NY) Police Dept.
845-831-4111
The
City of Beacon
1
Municipal Center
Beacon,
New York, 12508
(845)
838-5000 Fax (845) 838-5012
I
do have a new Shepherd, his name is Kovu,
but
I am no longer with the K-9 unit.
cards
will be mailed: 2/20/02.& received.
Wonderful
email from Bob. glad to help him.
|
Beacon
is a small river city along the Hudson River, about half way between New
York City and Albany. Beacon is five square miles with a population of
approx. 15,000. Our department has 38 officers, and currently there are
four
K-9
teams working. The are trained in routine patrol methods, suspect tracking,
and narcotic identification. Chase was with the department from 1989 to
1996. I was not his original handler in the department. I worked Chase
from 1993 to his retirement in 1996. He was retired when I was out on a
job related injury. Again, thank you very much.
Bob
Gooding
PO
Robert Gooding, Jr.
City
of Beacon (NY) PD
|
In
Loving Memory of
K-9
"BLONDIE"
December
31, 2001
Partner:
Officer
Sean Mulligan
Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport - WA
U.S.
Customs Service
address:
1000 2nd Avenue Suite 2100
Seattle,
WA 98104
cards
mailed priority: Jan. 11, 2002 - rec,d Jan. 16. Thanks for
your
kind email, Sean. Glad I could be of some help. Feb. 15, 2002
thanks
for the phone call Sean, always nice to hear from you.
Best
of luck with new partner (son).
|
Working hard
for a rolled-up towel
Reported
by John Stofflet, Evening Magazine
What
government worker helps keep us safe and expects nothing more than a rolled-up
towel in return? The answer is found at Sea-Tac Airport. They're man's
best friend, but not if you're a drug smuggler. Last year alone, U.S. Customs
Service canine teams detected hundreds of tons of illegal narcotics, worth
several billion dollars on the street. Since 1970, customs has been using
specially trained dogs, usually rescued from animal shelters, to detect
illegal narcotics in packages or luggage entering our country. The canines
can inspect several hundred packages or bags an hour. "If we had to hand-pick
through all the bags, if we had to stop each individual and speak to them,
we would be here all day just to do one flight,” said Sean Mulligan. Officer
Mulligan and Blondie, a golden retriever rescued from an animal shelter,
went through four months of training together. If she smells drugs in someone's
luggage, she'll simply sit down. As a reward, she gets to play with a rolled-up
towel. The officers don't mind letting their partners enjoy their reward.
After all, these canine cops work hard, and never complain. The dogs' skills
are well known among smugglers. In fact, customs officers watch for nervous
reactions when the dogs come in to the baggage area. “As soon as the dogs
come out here looking for narcotics, we're also looking at the passengers
as well. If you start seeing passengers moving away from the dog, that
kind of gives you a clue,” said Luis Sanchez. The dogs have to have at
least a 95% success rate at finding drugs to stay on the job. A sad update
to that story. K-9 enforcement officer Sean Mulligan lost his partner,
Blondie, to cancer on New Year's Eve. Blondie was a customs dog for 5 years.
In that time, Blondie was responsible for several busts, including discovering
57 pounds of marijuana on a Canadian fishing boat in 2000. Officer Mulligan
says Blonde's greatest accomplishment though, was visiting thousands of
school kids at countless schools in the area and educating them about the
dangers of drugs. Sean says the kids don't always remember him, but they
always remember Blondie.
|
..
|
....On
New Year's Eve, I lost my loyal partner, "Blondie."
She
was diagnosed with cancer on December 13th.
My
wife and I were able to spend Christmas with Blondie.
Blondie
was a 7 year old Golden
Retriever. We started working together in 1997. At the time I was assigned
to work for U.S. Customs in Calgary, Canada. Blondie was discovered at
a animal shelter in California. Blondie got sick on Nov. 27th, 2001.
On Dec 6th, she had surgery to remove a tumor from the right side of her
heart. The results came back, the tumor was malignant, exactly one year
to the day, Dec. 13th, I lost my dad to cancer. Blondie was released from
the vet hospital on Dec. 14th. She came home with me to recover. She "officially"
retired on Dec. 23rd. The best Christmas present was just that Blondie
got to spend Christmas with me and my wife. Blondie's health and attitude
was great. We spoiled her with gifts and her own turkey dinner. It didn't
take her long to learn how to enjoy the "retired" life, going for rides,
going on walks and even watching football games on the couch.
TO
HONOR BLONDIE:
Irish
Blessing
May
the roads rise to meet you,
May
the winds be always at
your
back,
May
the sun shine upon your face,
The
rains fall softly upon the fields,
And
until we meet again,
May
God hold you in the
hollow
of His
hand.
WORKING
...
|
In
Loving Memory of
K-9
"ELLIOTT"
December
21, 2001
Partner: Officer
Stephen Piersa
City
of Hartford Police Department
50
Jennings Road Hartford, CT 06120
860
527-6300
K-9
Elliott Retires
After
5 years of dedicated and loyal service,
Police
K-9 Elliott retired due to recent problems with
a
bad knee, forcing his retirement prior to his death.
Special
cake for Elliott --------->
cards
sent 1/19/02 priority - & received.
Thanks
for the email Steve...It's alwsys nice to know
cards
arrived at the right place.
|
Hartford Police
Mourns Loss of K-9 "Elliott"
....
This
is Elliott. I was his partner for almost six years. I deeply regret to
inform all that Elliott was put to rest today, the 21st of December 2001,
after a brief illness. He was a gentle giant to all, except for those who
turned up their noses to the law and sought to commit crimes against society
and Elliott especially loved children, visiting schools, public events
of all kinds and social visits to a children's hospital to make the sick
mile, even if for a while. I was and still am very proud to have served
alongside my trusted and faithful partner, Elliott, who not only protected
me, but every single citizen, with every breath he gave. He will truly
be missed by me and my loving family. Elliott's many memories will never
fade from my heart. He will never be replaced. For thousands of years,
we have bestowed title's, laurel's and praise upon the "warriors" that
have protected our home lands. From ancient Rome, where the conquering
General was proceeded into the Senate by flower girls covering their path
with rose petals. To our Generals of today, that are given ticker tape
parades as they return victorious from battle or conflict. As a nation,
we tend to place the symbols of peace upon the head of the warrior, as
we blindly turn our heads from the true peace makers of the world that
walk among us every day. We look but never see those that protect and serve
unless we become the victim. They ask for little, but give so much. It
is said that a man have no greater love, than to give his life for another.
So holds true for the police K-9. So here today, I attempt to honor and
pay tribute to my hero, who has given us his service, through injuries
and pain without complaint.
A true champion!
"I will always
love you Elliott!!"
Officer
and friend, Stephen Piersa
Retirement
Cake for Elliott
|
In
Loving Memory of
K-9
"CARO"
September
30, 1992
December
28, 2001
Officer:
P.O. Kevin Melchior
St.
Louis Metropolitan Police Department
314.444.5524
..
|
POLICE
CANINE CARD
Breed:
German Shepherd
Color:
Dark Sable - Weight: 82 lbs.
DOB:
Sept. 30, 1992 Birth Place: Hungary
Graduate
Canine School December 16, 1994
Dual
Trained - Patrol/Narcotics
U.S.P.C.A.
Region 16
"CHAMPION"
1996,
1997, 1998
USPCA
Certified PD1 - 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
USPCA
Nationally Certified PD1, 1995, 1996, 1998
USPCA
Nationally Certified Narcotics Detector - 1998
USPCA
- Regional 16's Narcotics
Find
of the Year 1995-1996
Handler,
Officer Kevin Melchior
Police
Officer - February 25, 1980
Canine
Handler - April 27, 1987
Police
Dog Trainer - June 28, 1991
Member
of
USPCA-NAPWDA-DAD/DAC-MPCA
|
Kevin
tranferred out of canine prior to
Caro
passing. He was in canine from March, 1987 until
September,
2000. Now assigned the the North
Patrol
Desk as the lead desk officer.
|
TRIBUTE
TO CARO
On
December 28, 2001, retired St. Louis Metropolitan Police Canine “Caro”
was put to sleep. Caro was taken to the vet because he had not eaten for
two days but everything else seemed normal. During the examination the
Vet felt a mass in Caro stomach area. It was decided to do exploratory
surgery. During the surgery both of Caro’s kidneys were tumors the size
of cantaloupes. Because nothing could be done to keep Caro in the quality
of life that he was used to, he was put to sleep. Caro was a Police Canine
until September of 2000, when his handler P.O. Kevin Melchior was transferred
from the canine section. P.O. Kevin Melchior handled Caro from September
1993 until September 2000. When Caro was retired, Kevin and Linda Melchior
purchased him so he could become their pet. But was he a pet, Officer Melchior
could not let Caro see him in his uniform because Caro would get extremely
excited and try and find his police car, to go to work. Canine Caro was
one of the most decorated Police Dogs that the St. Louis Metropolitan Police
Department has ever had. He received numerous awards from the United States
Police Canine Association, The German
Shepherd
Dog Club, and The Human Society for both his work on the street and during
dog trials. Caro is the only 3-time Champion of the USPCA-Region 16, Field
Trials.
Through
his career Caro conducted numerous canine
demonstrations
to thousands of people. He truly loved doing these and then letting the
people pet him afterwards. Caro could not resist giving the kids a kiss
as they left. Caro you were one of the best, you did almost everything
that I ever wanted you to do, and did it with style and personality. You
will be missed, not only because you were my best partner, nor that you
were a great Police Dog,
but
also because you were my best friend.
By
Kevin Melchior
CARDS
PRIORITY MAILED 2/6/02
Also
received wonderful email from Kevin, cards were received.
And
thank you for the patches, etc.
|
Memorials to Fallen K-9s 