K9 Aras – St. Charles County, Missouri

Died – 8/4/16
Handler – Officer Brandon Penuel

St. Charles County K9 Officer laid to rest

St. Charles County Officer Brandon Penuel’s heart was heavy when he got out of bed Thursday morning. His best friend, and longtime K9 partner, Aras, was dying of cancer and it was time to say goodbye. “About three days ago he really went downhill. We took him to the emergency vet overnight, they did a lot of tests, and this time they found out he had liver cancer,” Officer Penuel said. Aras was a 15-year-old Belgian Malinois who spent 12 years with the St. Charles County Police Department helping get narcotics off the streets. Officer Penuel says one of the biggest seizures Aras ever helped with was finding 112 pounds of marijuana in a vehicle on Highway 70 several years ago. Officer Penuel, along with his wife Laurie, took Aras to the West Clay Animal Hospital in St. Charles Thursday morning to say goodbye. Aras was simply too sick. “We pulled up to the vet and all my brothers from other law enforcement and K9 agencies were there,” Officer Penuel said. “It was very emotional seeing that. It made a really rough day better.” After Aras was put down, Brandon and Laurie stepped outside the clinic to tears and hugs from his fellow officers.When an officer retires, the tradition is to send out a radio call announcing his or her last day of duty. On Thursday, the tribute went out to Aras. “He was just a great dog, phenomenal partner,” Officer Penuel said. “I could not have asked for a better police dog than Aras.”

Tags

Submitted By Jim Cortina

James A. Cortina has been involved with police dogs since 1972 and currently on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Jim has been appointed as Treasurer since its inception in 1991. Jim is one of the charter members of the C.P.W.D.A. organization. Since 1975 he has been a certified professional dog trainer and received his Master Trainer Certification in 1985. During his career he has provided armed K-9 strike crowd control for security agencies in Connecticut and out of state security companies. In conjunction with other members of the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. Board of Directors, he helped to draft Connecticut Statute 53-247(e) "Intentional Injury or Killing of Police K-9" which was passed by the Senate in 1993 and also assisted in implementing the prestigious Daniel Wasson Memorial K-9 Award in 1992. In 1993 he helped coordinate the North American Police Work Dog Association Nationals in New London, Connecticut. He was appointed Training Director for the New London County Work Dog Association from 1985-1987. He performed decoy work for Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc. in police K-9 demonstrations, trained several local police department canines, and coordinated training workshops for out-of-state police departments. He participated in the United States Police K-9 Association Trials in Croton on Hudson, New York in 1985 as a decoy. He is an avid photographer and received photography awards in 1989, 1990, and 1991 and currently takes photographs for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc.
| Old Memorials | Site Map
Copyright © 1973 - 2024 Louise Krause Memorials to Fallen K-9's Hosted By PC-GEEK Site Maintained BY Jim Cortina