Riverdale police dog euthanized due to cancer
The first and only dog to serve Riverdale police has died. Koda, a 6-year-old German shepherd, was acting sluggish this week, so his handler took him to a veterinarian. Police say Koda underwent surgery to see what was wrong and doctors found cancerous tumors throughout his stomach. The dog was euthanized and buried Thursday at Ogden's pet cemetery. The Riverdale Police Association is planning to install a monument at the grave. Officer Brandon Peterson, who was Koda's handler, says the dog was responsible for dozens of apprehensions in four years with the department. Peterson says Koda was also a good incentive to get suspects to surrender without running or putting up a fight.   submitted by Jim Cortina, Dir. CPWDA

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It is with great sadness that I inform you of Kuma’s passing. Kuma retired in December of 2005 and has led a very happy and healthy life with our family since his retirement. Kuma was in excellent health when he retired and never missed a day of work. He began his career with the Sheriff’s Department in 1999 and had hundreds of apprehensions to his credit as well as countless public appearances.
Four weeks ago, I took Kuma to Sunset Animal Medical Center for a routine check of his hips. As Kuma aged,
he developed some minor hip issues relating to his work for the Sheriff’s Department such as scaling fences and climbing in and out of attics. As it was a routine check, I was shocked when my vet called to report that Kuma was bleeding internally from his spleen area. Apparently it had just started the day I took him in for the hip exam. The doctor explained that spleen issues are common to German Shepherds and she indicated that the bleeding may or may not be related to cancer. Emergency surgery was needed to stop the bleeding and save his life that day.
Kuma came through the surgery with flying colors and was soon home with our family spending time in his favorite spot by the pool. The next week I received the news that the spleen was cancerous. The doctor told us that we had somewhere between 4 weeks and 6 months left with Kuma, but stated that he would be pain free and happy during this time and this was later found to be true.
On Saturday morning the 24th of May, Kuma was not able to get off his dog bed. I immediately took him back to Sunset Animal Medical Center and my worst fears were realized. The cancer had migrated to his liver and he was again bleeding internally. Kuma was given pain medication and was made at home on a large dog bed in the surgery center. Doctor Arbios and all the staff were outstanding. They treated Kuma, Heidi and myself like members of their own families.  Kuma received much love and attention and was happy and content all morning. He passed into the great police dog heaven at noon.
All the outstanding medical care provided for Kuma was funded by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Canine Association (SSDK9.com). We formed the association to help pay for the medical and burial costs of our retired dogs that the county would not cover.  Kumas’s medical issues were a prime example of what this money is intended. Without the initial surgery we would never had know if the illness was cancer related and we would have lost Kuma that day. We would like to thank all the generous individuals and businesses that have donated to the canine association over the years.
There will be a short memorial service for Kuma on Tuesday, June 3rd at East Lawn Cemetery on Greenback Lane. The service will be at the Garden of Valor at 1:00 PM.  Many of our local police service dogs are interred there. If you worked with Kuma over the years or would like to show support for the canine detail you are welcome to attend the service. This is not an official Sheriff’s Department function.
SERVICE TO BE HELD 6/3/08  - By Joel Baugh K92  -  Submitted by Jim Cortina, Dir. CPWDA

Chapel Hill police dog KC dead at 7
Officer Gabe Shinn was partners with Police K-9 "KC" for five years.
The Chapel Hill police dog KC has died of cancer after five-year career of fighting crime, a "saddened" police department announced today. "Early Friday, KC began experiencing breathing difficulty and was found to be in the late stages of cancer," the department said in a statement. KC was seven years old and had been the faithful partner of Officer Gabe Shinn for the last five years, the statement said. A donation from the town's Kiwanis Club of Chapel Hill made possible KC's purchase.  submitted by Jim Cortina, Dir. CPWDA

Lafayette Police Department mourns sudden death of K9 Kwando
    K-9 Kwando, the partner of Officer Ron Dombkowski, passed away this evening after a brief illness, according to a release from the Lafayette Police Department. Kwando was a very valuable and effective
member of the Lafayette Police Department and the department mourns his loss, the release states.
Kwando was responsible for numerous felony arrests and apprehensions and was a vital part of the
department's drug enforcement efforts. "He was more than a law enforcement "tool" and was an extremely smart and talented member of the LPD family. He will be dearly missed," the release states. K-9 Kwando suffered a minor injury in the past weeks that resulted in a slight limp. He was taken out of police service to give him time to heal and be treated. During this period of time he became ill and the cause of the illness is as yet undetermined. The illness affected his normal demeanor and Dombkowski recognized that Kwando was ill and transported him to an emergency animal treatment center on Saturday evening. On Monday morning Kwando was transferred to the Purdue Veterinary Small Animal Hospital Clinic and was admitted to the ICU with complicated conditions including kidney failure. Kwando received care from nationally recognized veterinarian staff at Purdue. Unfortunately, his condition continued to decline over the past few days and at approximately 7:45pm this evening he passed away. Kwando came to LPD in September 2005 from Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana. He was a Belgian Malinois from the Netherlands and was born August 29, 2003. The LPD K-9's are housed by their handlers, cared for daily by their handlers, trained by their handlers, "Work in a dangerous profession with their handlers, and are part of the handler's family, "The loss of a partner this close is very difficult to bear and the department's sympathies go out to Officer Dombkowski and his family."   submitted by Jim Cortina
follow up:
Police, handler remember K-9 - 3/6/08 - Indiana
Ron Dombkowski, of the Lafayette Police Department, receives a handler's leash from David Hughes during a ceremony Wednesday honoring the passing of Kwando. Dombkowski's police dog recently died.
Veteran police officers choked back tears, and grown men hugged. "He was not only my partner, but my best friend and my son," said Lafayette K-9 officer Ron Dombkowski. Kwando, Dombkowski's canine partner of about 21/2 years, died unexpectedly in February. Friends, area police officers and K-9 units from as far away as Monticello gathered Wednesday at Lafayette City Hall to honor the 4-year-old Belgian Malinois. "It's a second marriage," Jim Knogge, a former Otterbein K-9 officer, said about the relationship between a handler and his animal partner. A necropsy was performed shortly after Kwando's death, but the results are not back yet, Dombkowski said after the ceremony. Before his death, Kwando had kidney problems. During the ceremony, Lafayette Deputy Police Chief David Payne took a moment to thank Dombkowski's wife, Crystal, for the sacrifices she made. "You had to worry each working night about two of your loved ones out on the street," Payne said. Dombkowski focused on a lighter moment: The night Kwando made a name for himself. Dombkowski and Kwando had been together for about eight months when the two initiated what seemed to be an unremarkable traffic stop on Lafayette's north end. Dombkowski found knives on the driver after asking the man to step out of the vehicle. On the passenger, he noticed a suspicious bulge, and the man took off running. "This guy was losing us like he was a gazelle," Dombkowski said. That's when Dombkowski hit the remote button to lower the window on his squad car and release Kwando. But the dog took off at full speed toward the driver, who was seated peacefully on the curb. Dombkowski shouted, and Kwando changed course, overcame the suspect's considerable lead and brought the man down by his posterior. Officers found marijuana hidden in the man's pants. At the end of the ceremony Wednesday, Dombkowski walked to a squad car carrying the ashes of Kwando as bag pipes played. The Lafayette Police Department plans to get another dog to replace Kwando, but Dombkowski isn't sure if he'll be the one to handle the new animal. "It's the best job in the world," Dombkowski said, "but it takes a lot out of you when something like this happens."

Follow UP Apr. 08 - 08 - Meet K9 Tommy, (Bel Mal)
New K9 joins LPD - Updated: April 20, 2008 06:03 AM - LAFAYETTE, IN by Sue Scott
 The Lafayette Police Department has a new K9 on the force. Lafayette Police officer Ron Dombkowski's dog Kwando died in February from health problems. He received a new dog on Friday. He is a 1 1/2 year old Belgian Malinois named Tommy. Dombkowski says he chose Tommy because of his temperament and tracking abilities. The dog is from the Netherlands. Officer Dombkowski gives his commands in Dutch. The K9 will be ready to start work after 5 weeks of training. "There are a total of 11 dogs in our county. They get utilized quite a bit," said Dombkowski. "They have had an impact on the drug market here in the Lafayette area in taking drugs off the street and tracking down criminals and apprehending them. They also help apprehend people who flee the scene of the crime. But, their main job in Lafayette is for narcotic detection."    It costs about $11,000 for the dog and training. Money for that was provided by the Tippecanoe County prosecutor's office. Funds recovered in drug forfeitures has been used to buy several dogs in the Lafayette area.   Some organizations are trying to raise enough money to buy a fourth dog for the Lafayette Police Department. For more information or to donate call (765) 807-1200.

The fatal shooting of an aged, retired patrol dog by his Alachua County Sheriff's deputy owner has prompted a new policy to prohibit any future similar incidents. Sheriff Sadie Darnell said Deputy Tom Willcox did not violate any laws by shooting his dog Kozar, is anguished over the fallout from the incident and will continue working. But Darnell added she has implemented a new policy that requires deputies who adopt their retired dogs to have them euthanized by a drug injection.
"He cares and respects Kozar and his current dog. He was raised on a farm and his perspective is that to put suffering animals down, you shoot them," Darnell said Monday. "The dog was 13, old for a German shepherd. He was deaf, he was going blind, he was having difficulty standing and walking. The deputy admitted to me today that he probably waited longer than he should have, but he just couldn't let him go because he cared for him and loved him so much."The shooting has upset some other K-9 officers and animal advocates who say the dog's death was without dignity and showed bad judgment for a dog handler.
People who work with animals, including local trainer Pepe Peruyero, a former Gainesville Police K-9 officer, said shooting the dog was not justified. Critics said the method can cause fear and pain. There is also the chance that the animal may not die immediately. "I am absolutely just appalled by it. Whether somebody wants to say there is no criminal violation, it is ethically and morally wrong," said Peruyero, owner of J&K Canine Academy. "This is a dog that dedicated seven years of its life to the community. It is incumbent on that deputy that when the time comes to euthanize that dog, to do it in a manner which is dignified. I've talked to K-9 handlers and trainers from coast to coast since this thing happened and not one can even fathom doing this."
Willcox did not respond to a request for an interview made through the Sheriff's Office. Darnell, however, said he shot the dog because he wanted to end its suffering and that was the method with which he was familiar. Darnell said Willcox put padding on his arm that is used in police dog training "because he wanted Kozar's last memory to be one of doing what he loved and thrived on." Kozar weakly bit Willcox's arm and was shot once in the head with a small-caliber gun, she said.
Another K-9 deputy, Lloyd O'Quinn, was with Willcox at the time, Darnell said. The unit has one sergeant and seven deputies. Darnell said her new policy is in effect now, adding that she understands the concerns of community members who are upset by the shooting. Joy Drawdy, long active in local animal issues, said this case should have been investigated as an animal cruelty case. She said if someone called authorities to report seeing a neighbor kill his dog, an investigation would be done.
Drawdy added that it is stated policy by animal organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States that shooting an animal as euthanasia should be a method only of last resort. "Shooting a dog is not humane euthanasia. This guy didn't know that?" she said. "It's an unnecessary risk. If you miss, it can be a very horrible, painful death. There is no reason to take that chance." Willcox has worked with the Sheriff's Office since 2000 and has been a K-9 officer since 2003. His current police dog is Jet. Darnell said Willcox is an excellent handler and that he will continue to be in the K-9 unit.
It is not unusual for handlers to keep retired police dogs as pets, said Russ Hess, director of the U.S. Police Canine Association. Agencies typically do not have policies regarding how a retired police dog should be euthanized when it is needed because the dog is no longer owned by the agency and it no longer wants liability involving the dog, Hess said. "This kind of incident may have happened before, but I've never heard of it. But I'm not going to second-guess the officer," Hess said. State Attorney's Investigator Spencer Mann said the incident is not illegal because Willcox did not intend to commit a crime. Peruyero said police dogs are sometimes shot in the field when they are so gravely injured that they will not survive and are suffering. Both Hess and Peruyero said officers typically have their dogs euthanized by a veterinarian.    submitted by Jim Cortina
update:
Nine Alachua County veterinary clinics have agreed to euthanize retired police dogs for free after an incident involving a retired K-9. Investigators said Kozar, a police dog who served on the force for about seven years, was shot in the head by his owner because the dog was sick. Police said in happier days, Kozar's keen senses were an invaluable service to the police force. "The dog served a very positive utility in our profession," said Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell. She said Kozar's owner, an officer on the force, shot and killed the 13-year-old dog because growing up on a farm, the officer thought shooting the sick dog was an acceptable way of putting him down. "It's not to say the that the deputy who shot his pet did anything wrong. The shooting method is an accepted method under the Humane Society," Darnell said. "There recommendation is always chemical euthanasia performed by a licensed vet if at all possible," said Becky Goodman, of Alachua County Humane Society. In the wake of Kozar's shooting, nine veterinarians in Alachua County agreed to euthanize retired police dogs for free to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. According to the sheriff, Kozar's owner put on a padded sleeve often used when training police dogs and let Kozar bit down on the pad before he shot him because he wanted the dog's last memory to be of something he loved. submitted by Bobby E. Earls, FL

 Two teenagers were charged with murder yesterday after they led police on a high-speed chase in southeastern Kentucky and hit a parked sheriff's department cruiser, killing the deputy and police dog inside, authorities said. "That happens so often. The bad guys walk away ... too many times," said Bell County Sheriff Bruce Bennett, pausing to brush back tears. "Of course, these are young people. But still, they are murderers now." The driver left an Exxon station in Baxter without paying for $38 worth of gas at 12:35 a.m., authorities said. Police followed the car at least 10 miles west on U.S. 119, into neighboring Bell County.
Kentucky State Police said two state troopers attempted to stop the speeding driver on the winding highway.
The teens' car veered over the center line at a slight curve in the wet, two-lane road and hit the deputy's cruiser, which was parked on the shoulder waiting to join the pursuit. Sheriff's Deputy Sean Pursifull, 31, and his dog King, a 5-year-old German shepherd, were killed, authorities said. Authorities estimated the teenagers were traveling "well over 100 miles per hour when they left the road," Bennett said. There were no skid marks or other indications that the teens ever braked. When Bennett arrived just minutes after the crash, Pursifull, whom he had known since he was a boy, was unresponsive. Still, the sheriff held the deputy's hand for a half-hour as officers worked around them. The sheriff said he hoped he was able to comfort Pursifull as he died, but he wasn't sure. "I told him to squeeze my hand, and I felt like he did a little bit. But he never spoke," the sheriff said. "We will never know." The 17-year-old driver is from New Castle, Del., and the 16-year-old passenger is from Chester County, Pa., said state police Trooper Walt Meachum. Neither was seriously hurt.
Authorities did not identify the suspects or say why they were in southeastern Kentucky.
Both were released from a hospital and lodged in the Adair County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of murder of a police officer and assault on a service animal. Jerry W. Garland, owner of the Exxon Friendly Mart where the teenagers allegedly stole gas, said he's perplexed about how they did it because the station requires customers to pay either at the pump or inside. "Somehow they got around that," Garland said. "That does happen from time to time." Pursifull "died doing what he loved to do," his wife, Melonie Horne Pursifull, said. "That was his life." Pursifull left two daughters, ages 7 and 11. The older was born the year he became a policeman in Pineville. He had been a sheriff's deputy five years. Bell County Judge-Executive Al Brock said, "It's just a tragedy on multiple levels. This was a $38 tank of gas -- that's what this boils down to."
"I knew him well. He was a fine young man," Brock said of the deputy.
Pursifull and his dog made up the K-9 unit at the 25-man sheriff's department.
"He was really dedicated to his job. One of the best officers I ever worked with. He was an excellent canine officer," said Sgt. Tom Busic, a K-9 officer from the Middlesboro Police Department who trained with Pursifull.
AP writers Samira Jafari in Pikeville and Rose French in Nashville, TN, contributed to this report.
funeral service & comments
Ky. deputy killed in crash is laid to rest Del., Pa. teens are charged with murder
By GREG KOCHER, (Lexington, Ky.) Herald-Leader  Posted Monday, January 14, 2008
Melonie Deana Pursifull leans over the casket of her husband, Sean, with daughters Victoria, in a jacket with "Sheriff" on the back, and Franki, during Sunday's funeral service. They also patted Deputy Pursifull's K-9 dog, King, in his own casket. The two were laid to rest side by side at a cemetery about 25 miles from Pineville, Ky. (Lexington, Ky.) Herald-Leader/PAUL WILLIAMS
 They worked side by side, and they were laid to rest side by side. A joint funeral was held Sunday for a Bell County sheriff's deputy and his drug-search dog. More than 500 uniformed police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians filed by the two rose-covered caskets. The black casket held Deputy Sean Pursifull, 31; the silver one, his German shepherd, King. "Basically, you had a funeral for two police officers today," said Trooper Walt Meachum, spokesman for the Harlan state police post. Pursifull and the dog died when a car rammed into a parked cruiser during a high-speed police chase early Thursday after a gas station drive-off. Two teens, David Poppiti, 17, of Holloway Terrace near New Castle, who was driving, and Eric Gerren, 16, of Lincoln University, Pa., have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and assault of a service animal. A gun was found in their car after the crash. Prosecutors hope to have the teens charged as adults and have their case transferred to circuit court, where they could face stiffer penalties. A hearing on that issue is scheduled for Jan. 31. During the funeral at the Bell County High School gymnasium, the Rev. David Peters, chaplain of the Pineville Police Department, said Pursifull and King were examples to others. Peters said Pursifull had a "let's go" attitude for whatever task he faced. "He poured his whole heart into that uniform," Peters said. "He was willing to pay the ultimate price." The teens allegedly drove off from a Harlan County gas station without paying for $37.95 worth of gas. State police called ahead to Bell County for assistance and Pursifull responded. But as Poppiti approached Pursifull, he veered across the road and broadsided the deputy's car, state police said. "I can't help but think that had that pursuit not stopped with Sean, it may have stopped later with one of our children," Peters said. "If you were to ask Sean right now, he would rather it had stopped with him." And because of King's drug-detecting ability, "the drug problems in this school significantly dropped," Peters said. Together the deputy and dog made 69 arrests in three years, Peters said. Just before the caskets were closed for the final time, Pursifull's wife, Melonie Deana Horn Pursifull, and young daughters, Victoria Alexis and Franki Seantae, went up to his casket. They also went to King's casket and petted the dog's head and fur. Pursifull and King were buried side by side at the Fuson family cemetery about 25 miles from Pineville. More than 900 people, including Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, attended the hour-long service. Police departments from Lexington, Bowling Green, Maysville, Bardstown and many other communities were represented. Several canine units brought their dogs to the funeral, and the officers and dogs lined up at the cemetery as the two caskets were carried to their final resting places.
Among the canine officers was Darrell Mongar of the Campbell County Sheriff's Department in Northern Kentucky. He brought his dog, K-9 Rooke, a Dutch shepherd. "Rooke is my partner and we've been together 6 1/2 years," Mongar said. "It would kill me to lose him. ... He's always ready to go to work. He never takes a sick day. "The saddest part to me is watching the family," Mongar said. "The ones left behind is what's sad to me. It's sad that this all had to come about because two kids were acting stupid."
1. Misdemeanor Unauthorized use and missing person report (per TNJ).
2. Misdemeanor theft of service.
3. Speeding/Evading
4. Gun issue is a non-issue because there is no indication that the gun was used, and was not discovered until after the accident (which I am sure will lead to an additional Felony charge). Under Title 11 ss 853 Unauthorized use is a class A misdemeanor.    submitted by  Jim Cortina & Dawn Lanhan