Died 12/11/19
Handler – Detective Christopher Snyder
Burlington County sheriffs give working K-9 final salute
Late in the afternoon, officers and staff from the sheriff’s department, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and other county courthouse staff gathered behind the courthouse to watch as Snyder and Scottie left the building one last time. With his tail wagging and tongue out, Burlington County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Scottie gave a final goodbye to his friends at the Burlington County County Courthouse. Scottie, a 10-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, was be put to rest Thursday after serving in the sheriff’s department K-9 unit, most recently as an explosives-sniffing dog. He’s the first dog the sheriff’s department will lose in its over 20 years of maintaining an active K-9 unit, and on Wednesday they gave him and his partner, Detective Christopher Snyder, a proper send off. “He’s just a great partner. His nose was phenomenal up until the last training session we had,” Snyder said. Snyder first noticed something wasn’t right with Scottie when he wasn’t acting like himself during a search of the courthouse around two weeks ago. On Monday, Snyder found out Scottie was diagnosed with terminal cancer. “When I found out Monday that it was terminal, I asked the sheriff if I could bring him just because I knew that people wanted to say goodbye,” Snyder said. “And they would’ve been cheated if they didn’t get the chance.” Late in the afternoon, officers and staff from the sheriff’s department, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and other county courthouse staff gathered behind the courthouse to watch as Snyder and Scottie left the building one last time. The duo marched through a tunnel of saluting sheriff’s officers and through a crowd of those of who work in the courthouse. Some of those in attendance sniffled and shouted “We love you Scottie” as he jumped into Snyder’s patrol vehicle. Scottie made sure to stop for some scratches along the way. “With Scottie, and all of our dogs being liked so much by not only the staff at the department but the staff in the courthouse — there are tons of people that work in this building that know Scottie and know Detective Snyder — with that bond they have, we wanted to give them a proper salute and send off,” said Undersheriff Michael Ditzel. Scottie’s career with the sheriff’s department began around 2012, when he was rescued from a shelter in Pennsylvania to be trained by the department. Scottie and Snyder joined forces in December 2014, and in 2015 the pair graduated from explosives-sniffing training. Their graduation was celebrated at Virtua Memorial Hospital. The pair would regularly perform building sweeps prior to major events, respond to calls for suspicious packages or bomb threats throughout the state and perform demonstrations for the community — a crucial asset for the sheriff’s department. “It is great to have him here for the public safety side,” Ditzel said. “But we do so much in the community and when people see a police dog and how friendly it is, it can be such a good resource to have to build relationships with the community.” The county sheriff’s department is one of the only law enforcement organizations in the county that maintains an active K-9 unit, with four active K-9s. Ditzel said the main reason in the reduction of K-9 units is the high cost required to maintain them. Snyder said Scottie became friends with a lot of people over the years from their post on the first floor of the county courthouse. “He’s obviously loved by everybody,” Snyder said. “It’s going to be sad for all of us, there was a lot tears shed today.” After Scottie jumped into Snyder’s vehicle to leave the courthouse for the last time, the detective kissed him on the head, praised his jumping skills, and told him to say goodbye. Scottie sat down and looked out at the crowd, and said goodbye the best way a dog can. He was happy.