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Died – 2/27/19
Handler – Officer Brian Hernandez
Mourners gather to remember town’s first K-9
Officer Brian Hernandez muted the music on a slideshow and played a recording of the final call for K-9 Django. “K-9 Django has answered the highest call. It’s with great sadness that I announce the passing of Munster Police Department’s first K-9, Django,” the recording states. “…Django was a huge part of our department and will be missed by all of us.” “K-9 Django is 10-42.” Roughly 50 people gathered Wednesday evening at Munster Town Hall for a memorial service for Django. Django, an 8-year-old a Belgian Malinois, died Feb. 27 of cancer. Hernandez was Django’s handler for six years after Django was put into service in 2012 as a dual-purpose detection K-9. He thanked everyone for coming out Wednesday night and for their support. “It really means a lot to me to see the impact that Django had on the community,” Hernandez said.A slideshow of photos of Django played on a large TV as people hugged and shook hands with Hernandez. They stopped to view a table, with a folded American flag, a tennis ball attached to a rope, a brown box and a photo of Django in a frame with the word “woof” on it.The room was quiet with people whispering while filing in. A bark from K-9 Briggs broke the silence and the room laughed. Patricia Werner and her 8-year-old daughter, Penelope Werner, of Munster, asked to pet Briggs, who sat by other handlers and their K-9s. The K-9s are much bigger than Penelope’s Havanese dog at home, she said, but she thinks “the police dogs are cute.” Penelope had seen Django before at Munster’s National Night Out and other town events, so Patricia Werner said she brought her daughter to the memorial service so they could show their support. “He was a loved dog here in Munster,” Patricia Werner said. “He’ll be missed.” Officer Joe Stasko, Briggs’ handler at the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, said he had never met Hernandez or Django before Wednesday. There are K-9 units at different departments in the area, but “it’s like one team,” Stasko said. Stasko said he joined the K-9 unit about six months ago with 2-year-old Briggs. While Stasko said officers are cautioned about becoming too close with their K-9s, “it happens.” “He’s your partner,” Stasko said. The Rev. Bartłomiej Stanowski, of the Camelite Monastery in Munster, said that dogs “are always the best friends for us.” “What can we take from Django? Loyalty. Courage. Happiness. Friendship,” Stanowski said. Stanowski said a prayer for Django and Hernandez and thanked them for their service to the community. “That’s like his family. That’s rough,” Dale “Doc” Ready, of Lowell, said about Hernandez. Ready and a handful of others with the Patriot Guard Riders, who attend funerals for first responders and military veterans, sat in the rows behind Hernandez.“As a Patriot Guard, we looked at these guys just like a guy in uniform,” Ready said about the K-9s. “They’re an amazing animal.” Ready estimated he’s attended hundreds of funerals, including some for K-9s, in the past. “It’s an honor for us to be here to do this,” Ready said. Staci Goveia teared up when she talked about the role K-9s have in law enforcement. “They are part of the family with the officers,” she said. The day before the memorial, Goveia and Protecting K-9 Heroes, an Illinois-based nonprofit that provides vests and other items to keep K-9s safe, gave Hernandez a canvas photo of Django. The photo was on display at the memorial service Wednesday. “They are four-legged police officers,” Goveia said. Hernandez said that Django was his first K-9, and he hopes that the department will be able to continue the program. “We’ll find somebody to fill his paw prints,” Hernandez said.
