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Died – 3/30/16
Handler – Officer Nathan Emmons
Death of police dog ‘Blitz’ an emotional loss
Early this year, Barron police employed the use of Blitz, the department’s K9 patrol officer, during a traffic stop. His handler, Officer Nathan Emmons, remembered that Blitz – a trained drug-sniffing dog — was very active around a child’s car seat in the vehicle. At first, it didn’t seem possible that there might be contraband in or around the seat.
“We found some small plastic spoons with what looked like dried candy sprinkles,” Emmons said. Later, the “candy” tested positive for the addictive drug ethamphetamine.
“It was being used to stir hot coffee. That’s how (the suspects) were using (the drug),” he said. Unfortunately, the police department will be without a K9 officer – at least for the immediate future. Blitz died following cancer surgery on March 29, 2016, Emmons and Police Chief Byron Miller said on Friday, April 1. Emmons said that on March 19, the German Shepherd dog passed a drug detection recertification course with flying colors. Three days later, Emmons discovered a large growth on Blitz’s right shoulder, which wasn’t there the day before. After a biopsy at Chetek Animal Hospital, Blitz was diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer. There was another series of x-rays on March 28, which showed that there wasn’t any cancer elsewhere in his body. It was decided to perform surgery and remove the tumor, to save his life and, hopefully, to return him to service. The first report was cautious but optimistic. Unfortunately, Blitz died of complications the night after the surgery. Emmons said that he wanted to pass on special thanks to Dr. Kamran Khan and Heather Mann, technician, “for their heroic efforts to save Blitz’ life.” A memorial service has been set for 4 p.m. this Friday, April 8, 2016, at Barron Area Community Center, to remember Blitz and the contributions he made while on active duty. Statements will be made by Mayor David Vruwink, Miller, and Officer Ray Parr, who assisted with a lot of the dog’s training. Local musician Chris Kroeze will sing. The loss of Blitz was a hard blow to the department and, especially, Emmons, who had been the dog’s handler for five years. “On (March 31), it was completely silent in my squad car, and it was the most deafening sound I’ve ever heard,” he said, with tears in his eyes. Miller said that when he was in the Marines, there was a small K9 unit at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and that experience gave him the incentive to try a K9 program after he got into his intended career in police work. When the time came, in 2010, “we needed someone willing to do the work with the dog, and to educate our City Council about it.” Miller said. “We put Nathan in two roles, and he succeeded in both.” Imported from a breeder in the Czech Republic, Blitz started active duty with the St. Paul, Minn., Police Department. But there were some performance issues that concerned the St. Paul department, and Blitz was eventually withdrawn from the force. “They never did explain what (the concerns) were,” Emmons said. The dog did have a stubborn streak, but weeks of intensive training helped to bond the dog and his handler, he said. Eventually, Blitz and Emmons became an efficient team, participating in dozens of drug investigations over the past five years. The dog was also a big help in arrests, he said.
“I once went to arrest a guy who was wanted on a warrant from California. We had all kinds of warnings about (the suspect’s violent behavior), but when he knew a dog was there he gave up because he’d had bad experiences with dogs.” Blitz might have been just as valuable to the department’s public relations effort as he was to solving crime. When he wasn’t working, Blitz was a friendly dog, eager to wag his tail and be petted, Emmons said. “We did more than 60 demonstrations for the department,” he said. “I can’t even count the number of meet-and-greets we had, where people would ask to see him. He was always willing to greet the public. “What I liked was that he’d do the job at the flip of a switch,” Emmons said. “But when it was time to interact with people, he’d turn it off. He’d let kids do just about anything to him.” Miller and Emmons said that they would eventually like to renew the K9 program with another dog. “But first, I have to process this (loss),” Emmons said. “It wouldn’t be good if we got another dog and he picked up on those emotions.” It cost about $25,000 to start the program with Blitz, he said. “But now that I have experience, we would want a fully trained dog, so the training shrinks from more than month to two or three weeks.” A ballpark figure for a new program is about $10,000, Emmons said. The department already has fundraisers scheduled, including an April 23 brat sale at Gordy’s Market, a raffle for a .22 Henry rifle, and the department’s annual golf outing on June 27. “One individual has already donated $500 anonymously,” he said.
