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Handlers: Deputy Kevin Andress
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Central District Station
Sheriff’s Administration Building
10750 Ulmerton Rd.
Largo,  FL   33778
727-582-6123
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North District Station
737 Louden Ave.
Dunedin,  FL    34698
727-582-6942
contact: Sgtcwagner@PCSOnet.com

Retired K-9s Get Heroes Burial - 2/27/08 - Florida
Pinellas County Sheriff Deputies and police dogs listen during the second annual memorial service for service animals at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens Pet Cemetery on Tuesday in Palm Harbor.
Heroes Gardens embraced two new members Tuesday. K9s King and Exy, retired from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, were buried next to a dozen other police dogs at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens Pet Cemetery. Both dogs were trained by and worked with Deputy Kevin Andress. King, a German shepherd, was a brave and reliable partner for eight years, Andress said, choking up as he spoke. After King retired, the dog was his pet for four more years. "He was a great dog and a great protector," said Andress, 48. "He was very confident and not afraid of anything. King was accomplished, but the case I remember most was the rape suspect he tracked down after he escaped from a house. King got to him, and he got 40 years for the crime."
Exy, also a German shepherd, was the first dog trained by Andress, who has been with the canine unit for 15 years. The two worked together for two years. "I learned how to handle a dog with him," Andress said. "He was very confident." Law enforcement dogs are trained to sniff out drugs, trail suspects and follow the trails of missing people. Andress' new dog, Zeke, and three others - Egon, Knight and Tonka - lay at attention during the ceremony, which honored all 14 dogs buried there.
They panted, whimpered and barked. Andress said he didn't think the dogs were sensing the spirits of their fallen comrades as much as they were restless. "These dogs aren't used to being still so long," he said. The ceremony was cut short after about 15 minutes because of a late-afternoon rain shower. It was attended by about 20 deputies, 30 teenage Police Explorers and others. The Rev. Danny McDonald of North Bay Community Church in Clearwater officiated.
"Do dogs go to heaven?" McDonald asked. "Yes! If any other minister disagrees, tell them they are dead wrong. It is written in the Scriptures that everything of joy to us will be with us in heaven." He noted that the greatest examples of "sacrificial love" are dogs. "These are dogs that protected not only their handler, but you and I," McDonald said. "They might not have been carrying a gun, but they carried a badge." Indeed, the dogs are considered officers. Andress, who now trains the entire county canine unit of 11, says it takes about 17 weeks to train each dog.
ALSO
In Loving Memory of:
Cuda, Dar, Rascal, Rex, Robey, Samson, Aaron, Henke, Eich, Major, Xant and Happy
The cremated remains of King and Exy were placed next to those of Cuda, Dar, Rascal, Rex, Robey, Samson, Aaron, Henke, Eich, Major, Xant and Happy. A small U.S. flag fluttered next to each marker. Curlew Hills president and CEO Keenan Knopke donates burial spaces, services and markers to officers out of respect to them and the service of their dogs. The cemetery has more than half an acre dedicated to animal burials, and will be able to accommodate about 1,500 animals in the area that opened in August 2006. The police dogs buried have either died since then or have had their stored ashes buried in Heroes Garden. "I'll come out here about once a month and spend a few more minutes with these dogs," Andress said. "I worked with or knew most of them, and I know they've touched people's lives."  submitted by Jim Cortina, Dir. USPCA

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