 Memorials
to Fallen K-9s
2004
page
14
The
F.A.S.T. Co. donates sets of memorial cards to all partners
I
need your help to inform me of
such
losses.
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Dept.
addresses available for those who want to send condolences to officers.
See below
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In Loving Memory of
K-9 Wynthea's Tequila
CD, TD, CGC, NA, TDI
K-9 "TIKKI"
May 1, 1993 - March 29, 2004
SAR Handler: Vicki
Wooters
Search and
Rescue Dogs of PA
PATF1
272 Iroquois La.
Malvern, PA 19355
610-296.5374
She had a hemangiosarcoma tumor. She was
operated on 2/24/04 and was on a search call-out on 2/25/04! We tried
to leave without her, but she is a real trooper.
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Tikki
is a 10 year old female German Shepherd Dog and a member of Search and
Rescue Dogs of Pa (SARDOGS) and The American Rescue Dog Association
(ARDA).
Tikki has been a search and
rescue dog for most of her life.
Her amazing nose has
followed the trail of a 9 year old boy, found
safe and alive. She has trailed an 11 year old boy through city
streets, also found safely. She has followed a young man to a train
station where he went to another city. She followed an elderly man from
the city to the suburbs, where he caught a ride to another city.
Her searches have taken place in
deep woods and on city streets with
traffic and trains. She has been deployed on 5 degree days (she found a
missing woman) and also on 100 degree days. She has worked side by side
with horses and other
dogs.
Tikki
has been a “schoolmaster” of sorts, helping to train many new dogs.
Although Tikki is trained to airscent like most search dogs, her
special gift is an ability to discriminate scents and follow a trail of
a missing person. This skill has enabled us to follow the paths
of
several missing people days after they went missing. The fact that she
can do this no matter how contaminated an area gets, is
extraordinary.
Tikki did not have one search that made her special. Each search that
she was on was the very most important one to each of the family
members of the missing person.
Tikki had a titanium hip and survived emergency bloat surgery. She
responded to a search one day after an emergency splenectomy (we tried
to leave without her, she would not let us!).
Tikki
helped hundreds of people through her lifetime. She has been an
operational search dog, on call 24/7 for 10 years. When not searching,
though, she is a registered therapy dog (Therapy Dogs International)
and frequently visits patients at Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital.
She has also participated in dozens of scout meetings, firehouse
demonstrations and school affairs. Her efforts may have prevented many
children from getting lost in the first place.
Tikki has demonstrated her excellence dozens of times on searches. She
has saved many lives. She is truly a canine hero.
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Eulogy
How do you say good-bye to
your best friend? We lost our very sweet Tikki last week. She died from
a hemangiosarcoma tumor. Tikki was a 10 year old female German Shepherd
Dog and a member of Search and Rescue Dogs of Pa (SARDOGS) and The
American Rescue Dog Association (ARDA).
Tikki has been a search and
rescue dog for most of her life. Twice she earned her wings flying in a
helicopter. She has trailed people both on foot and on horseback.
Her amazing nose has
followed the trail of a 9 year old boy, found safe and alive. She has
trailed an 11 year old boy through city streets, also found safely. She
has followed a young man to a train station where he went to another
city. She followed an elderly man from the city to the suburbs, where
he caught a ride to another city.
Her searches have taken
place in deep woods and on city streets with traffic and trains. She
has been deployed on 5 degree days (she found a missing woman) and also
on 100 degree days. She has worked side by side with horses and
other dogs.
Tikki has been a
“schoolmaster” of sorts, helping to train many new dogs. Although Tikki
is trained to airscent like most search dogs, her special gift is an
ability to discriminate scents and follow a trail of a missing
person. This skill has enabled us to follow the paths of several
missing people days after they went missing. The fact that she can do
this no matter how contaminated an area gets, is extraordinary.
Tikki did not have one
search that made her special. Each search that she was on was the very
most important one to each of the family members of the missing person.
Tikki had a titanium hip and
survived emergency bloat surgery. She responded to a search the day
after an emergency splenectomy (we tried to leave without her, she
would not let us!).
Tikki helped hundreds of
people through her lifetime. She has been an operational search dog, on
call 24/7 for 10 years. When not searching, though, she is a registered
therapy dog (Therapy Dogs International) and frequently visits patients
at Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital. She has also participated in
dozens of scout meetings, firehouse demonstrations and school affairs.
Her efforts may have prevented many children from getting lost in the
first place.
Tikki has demonstrated her
excellence dozens of times on searches. She has saved many lives. She
is truly a canine hero. But mostly, Tikki was a wonderful
representative of the female German Shepherd. She was elegant,
intuitive and completely in charge of our home. Her death was
graceful and on her terms. She died before she could even retire, which
is how she would have wanted it.
Although Tikki had a very
public life, I miss her most for our private time. Everyday, I had to
step around her to get out of the shower. She was always faster then me
to secure her free snack, courtesy of the cats; it could be a mole,
mouse or squirrel, swallowed fast as could be. And of course, she would
immediately jump to chase a cat that dared to jump on a counter.
I miss how she took each treat or bite of food with a gentle ladylike
grace. I will miss forever her ice cream face, with puppy ears and so
much joy.
Her heaven will be filled
with the swallows she so loved to herd and chase. There will be horses
with tails that she can run her face through. And always a stream to
cool her belly in. We miss her and know that she will now be reunited
with all of her good friends.
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In Loving Memory of
K-9 ABARTH
AKA "Bart"
August 19, 1996 - January 1, 2004
Partner: Officer Kevin
Gott
Fremont Police Department
2000
Stevenson Blvd.
Fremont, CA 94537
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Ofc Kevin
Gott. His K-9 partner, "Abarth" died unexpectedly on Jan 1, 2004,
after a battle following stomach tortion, AKA Bloat..
Abarth was the
best dog our Department has ever had and was a great loss for my
Officer Kevin Gott and his immediate family and police family. Abarth's last shift at
work in Dec 2003, was successful, as he flushed out Auto Burglars just
hours before becoming ill. He underwent hours of surgery and was
expected to beat the odds....unfortunately he did not. Abarth (Bart as we
fondly called him), was still a working dog. Even with tubes and
collars, he followed Kevin out to the curb to go to work, up until the
night before he died. As soon as kevin got dressed in his work pants
and boots, Abarth followed him around the house. It killed him to be
left behind...he was so loyal and dedicated.
To K-9
ABARTH
Abarth,
no longer a bad guy shall you find,
For now you walk with Jesus and live in our mind.
You lived hard and fast, as your battered badge shows,
Why God needed you in his kingdon, only he knows.
Thank you for your loyal service, we cannot repay,
We'd have given anything for you to stay.
But, now you live in Heaven, so play, play, play...
We each have an ache in our heart, that just won't go away,
But, we ask that God blesses our family
and FPD each and everyday:
Until we meet again...
by Donna Gott (C)
01/02/04
submitted by: Donna Gott #2243
Community
Service Officer/
Crime
Scene Specialist/K-9 Mom - wife & mother
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In Loving Memory of
K-9 WAX
1996 - April 12, 2004
Partner: Sgt. Paul Holliday
North
Coventry Twp Police Department
Chief of Police Robert A Schurr
845 S Hanover St.
Pottstown, Pennsylvania 19465
(610)323-8360
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It is with sad
heart that the North Coventry Police Department announce the passing of
K-9 Officer Wax. The Department's canine officer was an eight-year-old
male German Shepherd. Wax began his police career at the
Philadelphia Police Department Canine Unit in May of 1997.
Wax joined the NCPD
after he completed his basic training in December of 1997 with his
handler, Sergeant Paul M. Holliday. Wax was a certified patrol and
narcotics detection dog. He patrolled the streets of North Coventry
Township from December 1997 until February 2004.
Wax was loved by many and served with honor and
courage. He touched many lives while protecting the residents of North
Coventry and will be greatly missed.
******************
NORTH
COVENTRY -- Flags flew at half-staff outside the township building this
week in tribute of Officer Wax, the police departments recently retired
dog. Wax was put
to sleep Monday after suffering paralysis, possibly from a stroke,
early in the day. Lowering a
flag to half-staff might seem an unusual honor for a dog, but, well,
Wax was no ordinary dog. "He was
never a pet," said Sgt. Paul Holliday, Wax’s handler. "He was my
partner. He was a companion. He was a friend." At a Board
of Supervisors meeting that evening, supervisors’ Chairman William
Deegan paid homage to Wax. He remembered fondly the time when Wax
chased a burglar up a tree and trapped him there. "He got a
commendation for that," Deegan recalled.
Deegan
often joked that Wax was his favorite township employee -- the only one
to lick his hand in greeting. "He’ll be
well missed," Deegan said, "particularly by the children in the
schools. They loved Wax." Holliday,
who taught a Drug Abuse Resistance Education program at North Coventry
Elementary School, Coventry Christian School, and West-Mont Christian
Academy, regularly brought Wax with him. "He came
into all my classrooms every day," Holliday said. Holliday
had worked with Wax since the dog joined the North Coventry Police
Department in December 1997 as a certified patrol and narcotics detection
dog. Wax, who was 8, retired in February after he began having
seizures. A new dog, Griff, recently joined the force.
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According
to Holliday, Wax provided the township and nearby communities with
invaluable assistance by tracking burglars, finding lost Alzheimer's
patients and locating hidden narcotics. "He was a
great protector to me and a loyal protector of the citizens of North
Coventry and surrounding areas," Holliday said. Holliday
cherished the relationship he had with WAX.
"Its
a very special relationship. He and I have been together 24/7 ever
since we started our training together. I put the trust of my life in
his paws, and he put the trust of his life in my hands." Wax rarely
needed any instructions from Holliday when they were out patrolling or
were called to a crime scene or narcotics search. "He always
knew what to do," Holliday said. In that
sense, Wax was essential as an investigative tool for the department.
His keen sense of smell enabled him to sniff out drugs in unusual
places, such as under attic floorboards, Holliday said. "If we
didn't have a police dog, we wouldn't have found the narcotics we did,"
he said. For
Holliday, the relationship he had with Wax is difficult to
describe. "When
you're working with a canine, you spend so much time together, he knows
just what you're thinking," he explained. The new dog
is being handled by Officer George Hollis, who recently completed an
intense, four week training program with Griff. Holliday, as a
sergeant, has more administrative responsibilities and therefore could
not take on another canine partner. What will
Holliday miss most about Wax? "That
friendship," he said. "That loyalty. That trust."
**************************************
Update: K-9 member joins North Coventry police
The police department has added a new member to its
ranks. Greif, a
2-year-old German shepherd, recently finished his training with his
handler, Officer Robert Hollis. Hollis, who
has been with the department for three years, said Greif will benefit
not only North Coventry, but the surrounding townships as well. "This
benefits everyone," Hollis said. "If another department needs a K-9 for
a search or anything else, we’ll be able to help out." Greif is
trained in tracking, building searches, drug detection, aggression and
obedience. The 77-pound dog, whose lineage has been traced back 25
years, is lean and looks perfectly capable of convincing any bad guy to
surrender. But the dog doesn’t bother much with people, or even other
dogs, unless Hollis tells him to. "We don’t
really socialize him," Hollis said. "He’s trained to respond to me, and
he does." Out
of the police car, without a leash, Greif is focused on Hollis’ every
word and movement, even as dogs play in a nearby park. At his handlers
heels, he patiently awaits the next order. The commands are quick,
unmistakable and delivered in Hungarian, a language Hollis chose from a
list of many the dog is able to understand. The price
tag for the animal, a four-week training session and some adjustments
to Hollis’ patrol car to safely transport Greif tops off at about
$11,000. But the benefits of a properly
trained police dog, according to Hollis, are worth far more. "These dogs
can be trained to do anything," he said. Greif’s
reward, even for obeying instinct-defying commands like a "call off,"
where the dog is first told to attack and then called off before
actually reaching the target, consists of a few kind words and a tennis
ball. It seems to
satisfy the dog, however. He chews the ball and lights up whenever his
handler speaks a kind word or offers a pat on the head. Police dogs
often take an officers place in dangerous situations, such as building
searches and foot pursuits. Greif will be added to a roster of area
police dogs, including two in Pottstown -- one trained to detect drugs,
and the other trained to detect explosives. While
voluntarily leaping into harms way is an admirable trait, the dogs
really earn their keep with their sense of smell. Everyone knows a dog’s sense of smell is
far beyond the meager limits of the human nose. But the way it was
described to Hollis at training paints a much clearer picture of the
dog’s olfactory abilities. "If you or
I walk into a pizza shop, we smell pizza," Hollis said. "If Greif walks
into a pizza shop, he smells tomatoes, oregano, cheese, garlic -- every
ingredient in pizza. They can pick out each scent." Greif can
expect a career of about seven or eight years with the department.
His
time off, and his eventual retirement, will be spent with the
Hollis family.
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continue
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page 15 of 2004 memorials
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