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Died – 10/23/15
Handler – Officer Russ Allabastro
Watch Ends for Brave Bridgeview Police K-9
Bridgeview police are mourning the loss of beloved K-9 colleague, Gasper, who died Oct. 23 from stomach cancer. Gasper was a big, tough police dog who was always up for a job sniffing out perps and drugs, but when he finished a shift he loved nothing more than being babied by his human partner’s wife. A Belgium Malinois, Gasper was born in Belgium on Christmas Day in 2004. He came to the United States via Pennsylvania, where he was picked out by his partner, Bridgeview Patrol Officer Russ Allabastro. “There were 12 other dogs barking like crazy. I walked up to Gasper’s kennel and he put his head against the fencing,” Allabastro said. “When they opened up the gate he came and lay in my lap.” While the Cook County Sheriff’s Police K9 trainer felt that Gasper might be too quick for the older Allabastro, the two colleagues developed a deep personal and professional relationship over the nine years they worked together. “The first day I brought him home he was sitting on the couch nose to nose with my wife,” the police officer said. “Gas” as he was known around the station, was a universal K-9, trained in drug, area, building and body searches. “He did everything but bombs and cadavers,” Allabastro said.During his career, K-9 Gasper assisted numerous nearby police departments and worked extensively with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI in narcotics seizures. He only bit two perps and most offenders were relieved to be arrested after Gasper put a bark and hold on them. “”His bite was 40 pounds per square inch,” Allabastro said. “As long as they didn’t move, he’d bark his head off and then would shut up as soon as I put handcuffs on them.” Allabastro recalled a job in Blue Island, where Gasper found 22 kilos of black heroin hidden in a drug dealer’s basement. “He wouldn’t come up,” Gasper’s partner said. “I thought he found a critter but there were two boxes ready for shipment tucked into the bottom stairwell.” The police K-9 also found millions of dollars in hidden drug money. After helping Blue Island police find the heroin, the dog wouldn’t stay away from the refrigerator in the kitchen. When tactical officers pulled out the refrigerator, they found a Huggies diaper box filled with $350,000 in drug money. Gasper worked the afternoon shift at the Bridgeview Police Department. When out on jobs, Allabastro gave all of Gasper’s commands in Czech. Gasper knew his shift ended when Allabastro started speaking to him in English. “He became a housepet,” his partner said. “He had two collars, a regular collar and a corrector collar. When I put on the corrector collar and spoke to him Czech, it was like a switch.” Gasper lived with the Allabastros where he became a member of the family, hanging out with his partner’s 5-year-old grandson and dog buddy, J.D., loyally following his partner from room to room. “When I took a shower, he would lay in front of the bathroom door until I came out.” But it was Allabastro’s wife, Terri, whom Gasper truly adored. “My wife did all the feedings and treats,” his partner said. “When we got home at night Gas wouldn’t lay down until she came out and said ‘hi’ to him.” In late 2014, cancer was found in Gasper’s stomach. He recovered after a round treatments and continued working, but the cancer returned a few months ago. In his prime the police K-9 weighed 80 pounds but in recent weeks Gasper’s weight had dropped down to 60 pounds. “He was a working police dog,” said Bridgeview Police Chief William Klimek. “Whenever we needed him, he was always there. He was a colleague and had a badge. He was one of us.” The police chief said officers would grieve for awhile, but it’s up to the mayor to decide if the police department would acquire another dog. The brave dog continued working up until the end. His last mission was assisting the Oak Lawn Police Department in a traffic stop at 87th Street and Cicero after a suspected hand-to-hand drug transaction. Officers had busted out the windows when both occupants refused to come out of the vehicle. “Gas hit on the door where there was a large amount of cash sitting on the passenger side floor,” Allabastro said. Mere days later, Gasper’s watch ended on Oct. 23. The Allabastros and Klimek accompanied Gasper to the vet and said their goodbyes. “It still hurts,” Allabastro said. “He was a great dog. I have no bad memories of him.”
