Abbeville law enforcement honors fallen comrade
Abbeville County Sheriff’s Office investigator and bloodhound team leader Michael Belcher works with Rocky. 
Twenty-five people gathered in the courtroom Thursday at Abbeville County Law Enforcement Center to remember a dedicated member of the law enforcement team: a bloodhound named Rocky. “Rocky began his service in 1999. He was only 6 months old, but we could tell by then he was special,” Chief Marion Johnson said during the memorial service for the 10-year-old canine. “Over the years, the Sheriff’s Office has had many other bloodhounds on our tracking team, some good, some not so good, but Rocky will always stand out.”
One of two dogs in the Bloodhound Tracking Team, Rocky was bitten by a snake while searching for a missing man near Lowndesville in early June, leaving him with a serious infection. Despite treatment in Abbeville, Greenwood and Greenville, he died July 8. “We did everything within our power to keep Rocky within our agency,” Sheriff Charles Goodwin said. “Rocky was known not only to our tracking team but to our other law enforcement officers and to many in the community.”
During the memorial service, Goodwin presented the surviving members of the Abbeville County Bloodhound Tracking Team with a posthumous Award of Merit for Rocky before deputizing him. “He’s gone, but never forgotten,” Goodwin said. Officers also recounted their experiences and memories, including team leader Detective Sgt. Mike Belcher. “I remember one time when we were out training, Rocky took off down a hill. For some reason, he went down the hill at full speed and I thought I could go full speed,” Belcher said. “I ran into a tree, and while I was laying there on my back, Rocky came up and licked my face, telling me to get up and go.”
Belcher also spoke about a case where Edgewood Fire Department had been broken into. “We came out, we started from a broken window and went out on the scent,” he said. “The dog went across the street, through the woods, down a driveway and went right to the front door of a residence. He wouldn’t leave so some officers knocked on the door and were able to arrest a suspect. “Rocky kept pulling on the leash and went through the woods behind the house to an old abandoned school bus where we found fire equipment from the Edgewood Fire Department.”
Over his 10-year service, Rocky helped capture suspects in drug offenses and bank robberies, he found missing children and responded to shootings. He was called to assist teams from Aiken, Anderson, Laurens, McCormick and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. “I think just about the only things he didn’t run was a homicide,” Belcher said. Rocky was known for tracking in difficult conditions, including a blustery day in January 2006 when he was called out to a meth lab.
“The minute I walked out, I said, 'There’s no way we can track in these conditions,’” Detective John Martin said. “I took Rocky out there, I worked him for 10, 15 minutes to try and get the track. As soon as we got on the track,15 or 20 minutes later we caught both subjects.” On another search, Rocky tracked the suspect to a creek, where he began pacing back and forth. Officers found the suspect buried in the sand at the creek. “That guy, he said, I thought the dogs couldn’t track in water.’ 
He learned the hard way,” Belcher said.
Each tracking team member had something positive to say about the dog. “Rocky was our eyes when we couldn’t see, he smelled things we could not smell, when our legs were tired, he pulled us on,” Sgt. Barry Scroggs said. Rocky even attended the events and training with the National Police Bloodhounds Association -- twice. “They thought very highly of Rocky,” Belcher said. “These are instructors, guys that do this for a living, and they were impressed.” The loss leaves the team with one tracking dog, a 3-year-old bloodhound mix named Socha. “We’re in the process of trying to get another bloodhound and we’ll go from there,” Belcher said. “If not, we may have to get a puppy, start from scratch. Rocky was the best we ever had.”
submitted by Jim Cortiina, Dir. CPWDA

Richmond police lose K-9 partner to cancer
Rico discovered more than 200 pounds of pot in 1 bust 6/30/08
Richmond Police Officer Jamie Mastriano is shown with his late partner, Rico. 
Richmond Police Department recently lost one of its most important furry employees. Rico, a six-year-old drug-sniffing K-9 dog, was euthanized June 17 after an inexplicable lung cancer diagnosis. RPD officer Jamie Mastriano said he spent four years with the Belgian malinois dog as his partner. His voice breaking, the officer, who's been with RPD about six years, said he held the well-trained canine in his arms as a Richmond veterinarian administered the the final shot.
"It was a lot worse than I thought it was going to be," Mastriano said of the day Rico's heart stopped. Rico was responsible for numerous drug busts since he entered Richmond Police Department in 2004, including one two years ago in which he located more than 200 pounds of marijuana in a semi-trailer, Mastriano said. Cancer stole the dog's appetite and breath, and Mastriano said the Monday before his death he was breathing "really" uncomfortably.
For the officer, Rico's death means the loss of both a colleague and a close friend. "Not only do you work with them at least eight hours (a day) but then you take them home and they're part of the family," he said of Rico. "...Kids will play with him and let him out to run." RPD's K-9 force is now down to two, but Sgt. Dean Snapp said it would likely find another dog soon. No dog, though, can replace Rico -- the dog that would never "hurt a flea if he had to" among RPD staff, Mastriano said. "You get him out one day and he finds you 200 pounds of marijuana," Mastriano said. "The next day they're just a normal, goofy dog."
submitted by Jim Cortina, CPWDA, Dir.

Auburn police will say goodbye to one of their own this afternoon.
Ronin, one of the department’s two police service dogs, died June 6, succumbing quickly to a lung infection.
The 5-year-old dog died as Officer Dan O’Neil, Ronin’s partner, was racing north from Auburn to a veterinary surgeon in Kirkland. Ronin’s lungs had filled with fluid. O’Neil had his police car lights and the emergency radio running. He said Ronin died in a place and with the sounds he lived for.
“The thing Ronin loved the most was being in the police car and running code,” said O’Neil, 30.
No one’s sure what caused the infection, but O’Neil speculates Ronin picked up a thorn of some kind in his chest while tracking. It might have worked through his fur into the chest cavity, where it eventually abscessed. Ronin came to work the night before he died but didn’t leave the police car. By morning he was sick. “It was very sad around here,” Auburn Assistant police Chief Bob Karnofski said of the atmosphere on June 6. “Part of it was for Dan and knowing what he was going through. Part of it was because the officers know the dogs.”  The German shepherd came to the department from Germany in November 2004 as a tracker and teamed up with O’Neil.  During their service, O’Neil and Ronin deployed on 298 tracks, Karnofski said.
Of those, 103 ended in capturing a suspect and 51 resulted in recovery of evidence.
K9 dogs can be either trackers or work narcotics.
The department has another tracker dog named K9 Myk and a narcotics dog in training. The dogs live 
with their handlers and work together exclusively. The bond that develops between them is deep, 
Karnofski said. “It’s not a pet. It’s a working animal but you get to know it and rely on it to
protect you,” he said. O’Neil said the 97-pound dog lived to work. “He had so much drive. 
That dog was born to be a police dog and he was good at it,” he said.
He recalled one 90-minute track that Ronin made in Federal Way that ended with the dog 
finding a pistol tossed in some bushes by a serial rapist. Anthony Casper Dias was sentenced
last month to more than 200 years in prison; he still faces trial for rapes in King County.
“Few dogs could have done that,” O’Neil said. The officer said he hasn’t decided whether 
he will stay a dog handler. 
Pet Haven, an animal cemetery in Kent, provides free cremation, an urn and, if desired,
a headstone for all service dogs who die. Pet Haven handled Ronin’s cremation.
Vaughn McPhail, Pet Haven director, said he’s also planning to create a memorial for
service dogs, but hasn’t come up with a design yet.
The Washington State Police Canine Association has a K9 memorial at the Washington State
Criminal Justice Training Center in Burien. It recognizes police service dogs killed in the line of duty.
There are 10 dogs listed on the memorial, including three from Pierce County
law enforcement departments.
Mike Archbold: 253-597-8692
What: A memorial service for police dog Ronin, conducted by an Auburn Police Department 
chaplain. Area K9 teams and retired handlers and their dogs will form a cordon of honor.
Ronin’s name
When: 4 p.m. today, June 16, 2008
Where: Auburn Adventist Church
5010 Auburn Way South
Donations: May be made in Ronin’s name
To: Auburn’s K9 Fund at Auburn City Hall
 25 W. Main St.
Auburn, WA 98001
 OR:
The Pet Haven
23646 Military Road
Kent, WA   98032
The city fund helps buy new police dogs and equipment for the animals, such as bullet-resistant vests.
More - previous news item:
 Auburn police mourn loss of service dog Ronin
The Auburn Police Department sadly announces the passing of Police Service Dog Ronin. Ronin succumbed quickly to a chest infection on June 6. Ronin was 5 years old. Ronin and his handler, Officer Dan O’Neil, have been in service as a K9 team since March 2005. The team actively worked up until the day of Ronin’s passing. During their service, Ronin was deployed on tracks 298 times. Of those tracks, 103 ended in suspect captures and 51 tracks resulted in recovery of evidence. 
The City fund helps to purchase new police dogs and equipment such as bullet-resistant vests. 
The Pet Haven fund goes to the construction of a memorial for all police K9s.
submitted by Jim Cortina

Norwich police dog Reese dies unexpectedly
The Norwich Police Department is mourning the death of police canine “Reese,” Officer Josip Peperni’s K-9 partner. Reese, a German shepherd was 5 when he died Tuesday while off duty at the Peperni family home, Police Chief Louis Fusaro said. Reese, one of three dogs the department uses, worked the midnight shift and was responsible for numerous arrests. He was best known for demonstrations for the DARE program and area civic events. It is unclear what caused his death. Peperni has been a member of the department since 2002 and was selected for training as a canine handler in 2004. The canine program has been in service since 1984.
submitted by Jim Cortina, Dir. CPWDA

The following is a summery of Robi’s Navy Career
Awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal – 02/16/07
Robi served as Explosives Detection/Patrol Military Working Dog, Security Department
U.S. Navel Station, Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico & Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility
Vieques Island and U.S. Navel Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from August 1998 to 
February 2007. Robi provided security for several High-Level Events, Including The 2002 Organization 
of American States Conference in Barbados and Former President Bill Clinton’s 2002 Visit 
to Cartegena, Colombia. While at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba he served at the forefront of the
Global war on terror, clearing areas and routes for enemy combatant detainee operations,
along with Military Commissions and Tribunals. Robi Distinguished 9 year Naval Career came to an end in February 2007, upon his retirement where he spent his remaining days not as a Military Working Dog,
But as a family dog and a best friend. Until a sudden illness took him away from us all to soon.
He was truly a special dog who touched the lives of a lot of people. WE ALL LOVE YOU. 
REST IN PEACE ROBI.

We had to put MWD ROBI to sleep last Thursday due to a sudden illness. It’s been
a very hard few days for me, as he was a great friend and part of our family. 
 I served 4 years in the Navy (USS CORAL SEA CV-43). I did not have the pleasure of serving with
Robi. Actually Matt had received an e-mail from Chief Paul Bettis from Gitmo Cuba, Robi had retired and
the Navy vet wanted to put him down. Thanks to Chief Bettis (who would not let that happen) we connected
up in Norfolk VA. From the first time I took him out of the crate we bonded instantly. Then we brought 
him home (We were a little nervous because we also have a Pomeranian, but the two of them became
instant buddies)  Chief Bettis informed us that Robi was not house broken, but to our amazement I showed 
him the door outside once and it was never a problem. He was quite a special dog and I miss him dearly. 
When I informed Chief Bettis of Robi’s passing he was heart broken as was his last handler. I don’t think you will find many working Dogs that have had 7 handlers. 
Rob Rigg submitted by R. Rigg

Handler: Ofc. Glenn Daniel 
Baker Police Department
1320 Alabama St 
Louisiana 70714 - (225)775-6000 
Parish: East Baton Rouge,Louisiana

E-Mail: bakerpd@bpd.brcoxmail.com
Baker Police Belgian Malinois escapes 3/9/08
A Belgian Malinois trained to find explosives is on the lam from his Baker Police Department duties after chewing his way through a metal chain-link fence surrounding his kennel, likely to keep company with a female dog, police said Saturday. Rocky, who does not have name tags around his collar, escaped from his single-barrier kennel in the Wakefield area of West Feliciana Parish, Baker Police Chief Mike Knaps said. The dog chewed his way through the fence, and Knaps said he suspects it was because of the nearby dog in heat.
Rocky, who cost the department about $12,500 because of his specialized skills, is one of only a few explosives-trained dogs in the state, Knaps said.During a recent bomb threat at Baker High School, the dog was able to clear the school in about 45 minutes, the police chief said. Knaps said the reason Rocky does not have tags around his neck is to keep him from getting tangled up in areas where he searches for explosives. Anyone with information on Rocky’s whereabouts is asked to call the Baker Police Department at (225) 775-6000. “The importance of getting this dog back to us cannot be understated,” Knaps said. “We sure do need him back.”
Bomb-sniffing dog killed in traffic
The Baker Police Department’s bomb-sniffing dog, which had escaped from its kennel last week, was found dead along a West Feliciana Parish road. The Belgian Malinois, named Rocky, had escaped from his kennel in the Wakefield area of West Feliciana Parish. Police believe he was struck by a vehicle and killed some time over the weekend. Rocky, who cost about $12,500 and was obtained with a federal Department of Homeland Security grant, was one of the few dogs in the state trained to find explosives, Police Chief Mike Knaps said Monday. Knaps said the department will seek donations to raise money for a replacement for Rocky. 
submitted by Jim Cortina

Roscoe started his career in 02/1997.  He was stationed at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport,
Atlanta, Georgia.  He retired in September 2002 and died 02/2008. Roscoe was a
Yellow Lab Retriever/Shepard mix and was two when he became a custom's K9 in 
1997.  Ports assigned previously are unknown.  The largest and most notable seizure was just
weeks after completing his training.  While conducting a sweep of an airplane, Roscoe alerted
to one of the seats.  After reviewing the passenger manifest, and searching the woman who
had previously occupied the seat, officers discovered that she had swallowed 1 lb. of cocaine. 
YOU CAN HELP OTHERS LIKE ROSCOE, STOP DRUG SMUGGLING AND REPORT ALL
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES BY CALLING: 1 800-BEALERT. submitted by: Jan Everett

Pittsfield Township's first police dog dies
The first K-9 officer with the Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety died over the weekend, officials said. Recon, a 12-year-old German Shepherd that retired in 2006, died at the home of his former partner and handler Sgt. Henry Fusik, according to a written statement issued by the department Monday. The award-winning dog was born in the Czech Republic and joined the department in 1999. Specially trained in narcotic detection and tracking, Recon and Fusik are recognized for 37 criminal tracks and building searches that led to arrests, the department said. They worked on cases that led to the forfeiture of $116,387. The duo was named Washtenaw 100 Officer of the Year in 2004.
MORE:
The canine unit was initiated at the Pittsfield Police Department in 1999. "Recon" is a pure bred German Shepherd and was a full service police dog, trained in narcotics detection, tracking, and handler protection. Recon was used in conjunction with daily police activities, including the protection of life and property. Recon, handled by Henry Fusik, trained constantly to help make one of the most productive K9 Units in Washtenaw County. The teaming of Recon and Henry Fusik created a long standing bond of friendship and partnership that continues today. Recon retired from police duty on September 1, 2006. Henry Fusik continues to serve with the police department as a Sergeant. Over their 7-year K9 career, Recon and Sergeant Fusik were responsible for the forfeiture of $116,387 in drug money. They also conducted 37 criminal tracks that led to apprehension, including building searches. Sergeant Fusik and Recon received the following awards for their efforts; Washtenaw 100 Officer of the Year 2004, Optimist Club Award 2004, 3 Departmental Citations, 
1 Departmental Achievement Award, nominated twice for the Golden Paw award, and the AMW 
Hometown Hero Recognition.  submitted by Jim Cortina