Memorials to Fallen K-9s
2002
page 29
The
F.A.S.T. Co. donates sets of cards to all partners
I
need your help to inform me of such
losses.
|
Dept.
addresses available for those who want to send condolences to officers.
See below
In Loving Memory
of
K-9
BEAR
September
23, 2002
Partner/ Handler
Capt.
Scott Shields
Marine
Safety Service
225 Rector Place - New York, New York
10280
WTC Ground
Zero (C)
K-9 BEAR @
WTC drinking water
photo
by Beth Kaiser (C)
Scott
worked with some of these men on the site. We honored thier heroism here
at Bear's memorial service a month later with a presentation of
"The
Bear Search and Rescue Foundation Award"
for
extraordinairy Service to Humanity. A hundred others we saw do extraordinary
things those days, were also honored.
The
World Trade Center's Heroic Rescue
Dogs
The morning of September 11th started out as one of the most beautiful
of the year. Scott Shields was at his sister's home in Greenwich
Connecticut watching television with his then eleven year old golden retriever
named, Bear, as he watched the live broadcast of planes crashing
into the World Trade center. Scott jumped into his car and made the
wild ride down to Chambers Street in 38 minutes a ride that usually takes
90 minutes. As chief safety officer for many of the New York City Harbor
events his car is always filled with disaster equipment and ready for response
to any type of disaster. Trained in marine safety and emergency management
by the National Guard, Fema, and The American Red Cross, Scott ; one of
the first rescuers to respond to the attacks used his extensive background
in emergency management to organize harbor activities, utilizing boats
for rescue and emergency transportation efforts and communicating with
other craft for assistance the first few days of the incident. Scott
boarded the U.S. Coast Guard ship, Katherine Walker (tied up to Rockefeller
Park in Battery Park) and proposed a plan to Capt. Steve Whitlock, it's
commanding officer, to evacuate and then shuttle firemen around the gridlock
on the West side highway. Scott also assigned DEA agents to assist
Just
a note in this new year to say thanks for your site; the honor it does
us all and for the work we all do together. For me it was the most
horrible and wonderful year. I lost the two things I loved most
on this earth (Bear and his mother Honey). I lost good friends.
Bear and I where honored all over the world. I will never have to
wonder what kind of man I'd be, even in hell, or if I had the leadership
skills to take men there. These things I won't wonder about ever
again. Bear and I passed that most crucial test. I will never
have to wonder what kind of parent I would have been for in the end I had
a son (not the kind I expected) but the kind they build statues of.
No there are a lot of things I won't worry about anymore. The people
have been better to us then our own government, to that I thank people
like you. It is for people like you that those of us that "do the
job" from the heart get our inspiration. You have shown an understanding
and appreciation for what we are willing to sacrifice to do "the right
thing," it's definitely not about the money! But it is about
duty and honor and thanks from all of us for recognizing that.
Scott, Bear, Honey, & Theodorebear
|
Dr.
Barbara Kalvig (chief veterinarian for the World Trade Center response)
to set up Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams (VMAT) for the Suffolk
County SPCA the only organization that provided treatment for the Search
and Rescue Dogs that worked Ground Zero. A New York State Senate
Proclamation states "Captain Scott Shields and his companion "Bear" were
the first canine crew to arrive under that leaning facade that became known
as Ground Zero, working tirelessly in the search and rescue mission, locating
the body of the beloved FDNY Chief Peter Ganci with his friends
firefighters T.J. Munday and Jean Paul Augier as chronicled in Dennis Smith's
best selling book Report From Ground Zero, on page 111 and
remaining at Ground Zero for six months assisting with the recovery efforts.
A day after the attack stories of Bear walking through
the rubble carrying his dads helmet in his mouth brought a smile
to the dog tired rescue teams. A wonderful picture of Bear getting
a drink of water that second afternoon on the site was taken by AP photographer
Beth Kaiser. To quote firefighter Jean Paul Augier in a Comcast interview;
who actually made the find of Chief Ganci and made one of the few live
finds that day (the head of Customs) "it was like being on the moon, Bear
was working as hard as we did, the debris field was so large it was like
trying to find a needle in a haystack, Bear was phenominal, to see this
dog climb up and over these pieces of steel and crushed concrete was amazing.
I wanted to keep the dog with me as long as I could, but there were to
many firemen trying to latch on to him." When asked how much
do you credit Bear with ? "everything!" Bear was injured on his back
by a jagged piece of metal that first night and after being treated at
a triage center on the site he went right back to work. Months later the
area around this wound became cancerous and he received treatment from
Dr. Jennifer Chaitmen a vet who had donated her services down on the site
and had promised she would take care of him forever. Dr. Chaitman
kept that promise as Bear was to die of multiple forms of cancer almost
a year later with over $15,000 worth of treatment for this hero. Scott
is proud to say he was "surrounded by my friends in that hell we called
the World Trade Center." One such friend was Andrew Furber a welder,
sculptor, and poet. Andrew had volunteered on the fireboat, John
J. Harvey, a 1932 one hundred and thirty foot fireboat with the five largest
mobile water pumps in the northeast. The Harvey had been sold for scrap
by the city of New York for $50,000 ten years earlier. Rebuilt with
the efforts of dedicated volunteers like Andrew Furber a month before the
WTC the Harvey was asked to be the committee boat for the tug boat
races in New York Harbor. Her Captain, Huntley Gill decided at the
last possible moment that this old lady of the harbor, who was only there
to sound her horn and start the race would also participate. Scott
was on the bridge when Huntley said "awh let's race" and threw the telegraph
down full ahead to the engine room. Tim the engineer who had
dedicated the last few years of his life to rebuilding her ( and
was often asked to work on other boats at much more money) must have read
Huntley's mind and pushed the engines to their max. The old lady of the
harbor who was only there as a courtesy came in first against all the new
boats in the harbor. On a national public television show "The Day
the Towers Fell." Scott describes that morning and what his friends did
that day. "We lost all the water downtown, stuff was still falling
from all the building still left standing and fires were still engaged
the surrounding structures. There was no way to fight the fires and pieces
the size of trucks were falling off, and then the fireboats started
arriving and then the Harvey came, scrapped for fifty thousand dollars
by the city. The Harvey can pump more water than any New York City Fireboat.
She ran lines back in along North Cove between the Financial Center Buildings
and into where The World Trade Center was, and she became a hero," and
a legend. Andrew Furber helped lay those water lines and then courageously
went inside (the buildings were still falling). Andrew worked with Scott
and Bear those first days. November 19th, 2001 he wrote this about their
work: " Scott worked with his dog Bear on finding bodies buried in the
pile, and I worked as a steel worker cutting steel and helping firemen
extract bodies after they were found. Bear shares the same characteristics
as Scott. Just observing him on the pile and comparing him to some
of the other rescue dogs, he was clearly in his element. He was at
peace, agile, and didn't slow down until it was time to rest. Other dogs
I noticed behaved erratically, emotionally, and were apparently overwhelmed
with the amount of possible bodies that they were less effective.
Watching Scott and Bear interact told volumes about their relationship
and personalities. Scott and Bear were clearly working really hard, putting
in extraordinary hours and focused on saving lives. I could
not imagine how poorly Bear must have been since all of us had dust masks,
but he had his nose right down in the thick of middle of the whole week.
A New York State Senate Proclamation stated "within every community
there exist certain individuals who through their hard work, dedication
and service play an instrumental role in protecting the lives of citizens,
Capt. Scott Shields and his dog Bear displayed the human values of bravery
and dedication as a member of the fire fighting community, achieving success........".
Bear was given the honor of leading New York City's Fifth Avenue Columbus
Day Parade. Bear was first marching at the head; in front of governor Pataki,
Mayor Juliani, and both Senators Clinton and Schumer. This can be seen
in a photo taken by Mike Segar. On November 17th, 2001, Bear and
Scott were presented with "The Heroes Award" by the International Cat Society"
at the Westchester County Cat Show. Scott says that this was the first
time he laughed since the incident "just the irony of the cats giving a
dog an award."
 cards
mailed 12/17/02
|
In Loving Memory
of
K-9
ZEUS
October
29, 2002
Partner,
Officer Mitch Waters
Indianapolis
Police Department
IPD
Canine Section - 901 North Post Road
Indianapolis,
Indiana 46219
(317)
327-6696
called/will
get back to me. Talked to Ofc. Waters
10/30
waiting for photo
Officer
Bitten By Indianapolis Police Department Dog Kills It
Indianapolis
Star -October 30, 2002
A
dog in the Indianapolis Police Department's K-9 Unit died Sunday night,
shot down after attacking an IPD officer. Zeus, a 2-year-old Dutch
shepherd, attacked Officer Brett Seach sometime after 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
Police hoped Zeus would help them find a man who had run away after Seach
pulled his car over. Zeus tracked the suspect to a porch,
but
in the struggle to catch the man, Seach ended up shooting Zeus twice after
the dog bit his forearm and bicep and caused deep puncture wounds, according
to a police report. Zeus is the second dog to die from officer fire
in IPD's K-9 unit, which is one of the largest in the country and has operated
since 1960. An undercover narcotics officer killed the first dog,
Valco, on July 17, 2000, during a drug raid on the Near Northside. The
officer did not know Valco was a police dog. Only a few dogs die each year
in the line of duty, said Joan Hess, assistant to the director of the U.S.
Police Canine Association in Springboro, Ohio, the country's largest K-9
certification group. She said she had never heard of a dog being killed
by officer fire. IPD has 11 bulletproof vests for its 33 dogs, but
officers prefer not to use the vests because they make the dogs hot and
tired, said Lt. Paul Ciesielski. The vests usually go on when an armed
suspect is present, he said. Zeus and his partner, Officer Mitch
Waters, were called to the traffic violation Sunday night and found the
suspect in the 3700 block of Rural Street. Waters had let go of Zeus' leash
to take a lawn chair the suspect was using to poke the dog. Seach was providing
cover for Waters at the time Zeus attacked him, but Ciesielski did not
know if Seach had his gun drawn. A dog might run at an officer with a gun
pulled, and Dutch shepherds are known to be more excitable than other dogs
in K-9 units, Hess said. Zeus and Waters, a nine year IPD veteran, graduated
from training and began patrolling together in August. Waters plans to
hold a private burial for Zeus. The suspect, 18 year old Michael A. Dobbins,
was arrested later and faces preliminary charges of auto theft, resisting
arrest and battery on a law enforcement animal. Seach and Dobbins
were treated at Wishard Memorial Hospital and released.
Officer
Waters started training another K9 named
MIKKO
Nov.
4, 2002
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K-9
deaths spur IPD to rethink policies
Changes
proposed to protect animals, ease patrol officers' fears of being bitten.
By
Tom Spalding November
21, 2002
They
are four-legged friends of law enforcement -- but in the past 21/2 years,
Indianapolis police officers have proved far more deadly to their K-9s
than the accused crooks the dogs often chase. Two of the dogs have been
shot by police officers, but none has been killed by a suspect. That's
why IPD, which has the nation's second-largest K-9 squad, is making changes
to protect its animals while allaying fears among the street-beat patrol
officers. Those steps include proposals to change policy, toughen investigations
of attacks and add extra training for street cops. Ironically, because
police often see firsthand the dogs' effectiveness at snaring fleeing suspects,
many have a real fear of the animals' ferocity. "It's not really a high
risk," said Sgt. Craig Patton, a lead K-9 trainer. "However, it is something
that can occur."
A
dog bite led to the most recent K-9 fatality on the 33-dog, 19-officer
Indianapolis K-9 unit. On Oct. 27, an East District officer shot and killed
a 2-year-old Dutch shepherd named Zeus after the dog mistakenly bit his
arm. "If you are afraid of police dogs, I understand that," Patton told
a day-shift group of officers at the West District on Thursday. "But it's
not a reason that if you are going to be bitten, to give the dog the death
penalty." At the Indianapolis Police Department, incidents of dogs biting
an officer occur, on average, just once a year. Besides the bite to the
officer, K-9s bit seven people during felony captures in October, while
22 other felony suspects and four misdemeanor suspects were captured without
a bite. And dogs were used in 58 building searches, 72 narcotics searches
and 17 explosives checks. IPD's rate of dogs biting suspects -- about 19
in every 100 cases where K-9s are used -- is lower than a national standard.
Merritt Clifton, editor of a Clinton, Wash.-based animal protection newspaper
called Animal People, said a handful of police dog tragedies occur annually.
Other
experts say it just can't be helped. "It's always good to make changes,"
said Bob Eden, a dog handler in British Columbia who operates the K9 Academy
For Law Enforcement. "It's still going to happen. It's the nature of the
beast. Dogs just do not have the ability to reason things out, so accidents
occur." IPD's Emily Huff, a day-shift patrol officer in the West District,
said she's been involved in on-foot pursuits and chases where a K-9 was
at the front. "I stay back and I don't worry about them biting me -- it
doesn't even really cross my mind. They make our jobs easier." For skeptics,
though, "I don't think it'll change the way they feel," she said. Police
officers' fear of dogs extends to those on the street. In fact, nearly
three-fourths of the time when Indianapolis police fire their guns, it's
to shoot a dog. In September, an Indianapolis Star computer analysis of
police records uncovered the trend, a pattern of shootings that resulted
in the deaths of 44 dogs since 2000. IPD regulations regarding animals
allow officers to shoot "in imminent danger situations." IPD's dogs perform
a range of tasks, from pregame bomb sweeps at Indianapolis Colts and Indiana
Pacers games to narcotics searches -- their efforts recovered $2 million
alone this year -- as well as suspect apprehensions. To his knowledge,
Patton said, no officer has ever suffered a line-of-duty death from a K-9
attack. An IPD undercover narcotics officer killed the first dog, Valco,
on July 17, 2000, during a drug raid on the Near Northside. The officer
did not know that Valco, who was shot four times, was a police dog. In
the most recent case, Zeus and his partner, Officer Mitch Waters, were
called to a traffic violation and found a suspect in the 3700 block of
Rural Street. Waters had let go of Zeus' leash to take a lawn chair the
suspect was using to poke the dog. Officer Brett Seach was providing cover
for Waters at the time Zeus attacked him. Police dogs should generally
be on a leash, but it is acceptable to let a dog go free if circumstances
warrant. If the suspect runs around a house or goes out of sight, the dog
handler is not to let the dog go further. "They are essential, as far as
I am concerned, especially around here where the population is so dense
and the houses sit so close to each other," Patrolman Mark Frazier said.
"You get a tight perimeter set up, and the dog will find the person."
|
In Loving Memory
of
K-9
ZUCCO
(Belgian
Malinois)
October
30, 2002
LODD
Partner
Officer Michael Hughes
New
Orleans Police Department
K9
Division
Harrison
& Marconi Sts.
New
Orleans, LA 70124
504.483.2040
- *504.826.2828
thank
you Rudy Fascio & Robert
Young for your help
|
Police
dog tracking suspect is killed
3
N.O. men booked in bank robbery try
10/31/02
-By Walt Philbin
or (504) 826-3301 - The Times-Picayune
A
bank robbery suspect chased by police into a Lakeview neighborhood Wednesday
fatally shot a police dog before emerging from beneath a house and surrendering
to police SWAT negotiators about six hours later, authorities said.
Two
other men, including a suspected getaway driver, also were arrested in
the case. All three were booked with attempted bank robbery, a federal
charge that carries up to 20 years in jail, the FBI said. The police dog,
a Belgian Malinois named Zucco, died of a gunshot wound shortly after being
taken to a veterinary hospital, police said. "It's tough. It's like one
of your own going down," said Sgt. Harold Chambliss, a long-time K-9 member
who works in the same unit as the dog's handler, Officer Michael Hughes.
Hughes "is devastated," Chambliss said. The K-9 unit was responding to
an incident that began when a man with a revolver confronted a bank employee
opening the Hibernia Bank at 7033 Canal Blvd. shortly before 7:30 a.m.,
and forced him inside, FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne said. The man, joined
inside the bank by a second man carrying a shotgun, ordered the employee
to open the bank's vault, the FBI said, but the employee said he wasn't
able to, and the two men left. The alarm sounded, and two N.O.P.D. officers
detailed to a Lakeview Crime Prevention District responded quickly and
spotted two suspects on foot. Police arrested Darius Copelin, 20, 4601
Stephen Girard St., in the 800 block of Turquoise Street in Lakeshore,
and recovered a shotgun. Police spotted the other suspect, Andre Cassimer,
19, 3704 Garden Oaks Drive, Algiers. He emerged from a nearby driveway,
jumped a fence and disappeared. Police quickly surrounded the block, and
Hughes led Zucco from yard to yard to track the man, police spokesman Capt.
Marlon Defillo said. When they got to a house at Walker and Memphis streets,
Zucco picked up a scent and started to go under the house, officers said.
That's when he was shot. Hughes picked up the dog and rushed to a police
unit. Two neighborhood boys, ages 12 and 8, watched from the front window
of their house across the street. "He had the dog in his arms like this,"
the older boy said, making a cradle with his own arms. Authorities evacuated
residents from the house and two adjacent to it as the SWAT team tried
to negotiate with Cassimer, first by megaphone, then with a microphone
they dropped beneath the house, Defillo said. After a few hours, he began
talking with negotiators and asked whether he could talk with his grandmother,
officers said. Shortly before 1:30 p.m., he agreed to crawl out from under
the side of the house and surrender to negotiators, police said. "We waited
him out and he finally got tired," Defillo said. A handgun was found under
the house, police said. After the federal charge is resolved, Cassimer,
also faces a state charge of killing a police dog, which carries a possible
three years in jail, Defillo said. A third man, Calvin Anthony Scott III,
22, 5947 Providence St., was arrested later Wednesday afternoon. Authorities
allege Scott was the getaway driver.
cards
mailed 11/5/02 & arrived in time for service.
Thanks
to all the help from Rudy & Robert.
|
|
on
Zucco
The loss of a man's best friend
11/10/02
By Sheila Stroup - Staff writer/The Times-Picayune
A
memorial ceremony Thursday, November 7, 2002.
The
ceremony for Zucco, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, will be at 10:30 a.m.
at the New Orleans Police Department K-9 compound in City Park at Harrison
Avenue and Marconi Boulevard. It was a perfect fall morning, not cold but
crisp, with a sky so blue it could bring tears to your eyes. Thursday was
the kind of day I think of as "dog weather." On such a day, a dog will
lift his nose and breathe in deeply, savoring the possibilities. It was
the right kind of morning to pay tribute to Zucco. At the New Orleans Police
Department K-9 compound in City Park, the air was laced with rich aromas
coming from the stable next door, and dozens of police officers stood waiting
for the ceremony to begin, their uniform shirts matching the color of the
sky. A plaque next to the wooden urn told the police dog's story: "In memory
of K-9 Zucco," it said. "A 4-year-old Belgian Malinois was killed in the
line of duty on Oct. 30, 2002, while he and his handler, Police Officer
Michael Hughes, were searching for a bank robbery suspect."
(continue
--------------> )
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Dogs
and heaven
The
service was held in the shade of a pecan tree, in the training yard where
Zucco had learned the skills he needed to become one of New Orleans finest.
The Rev. David Julian, police chaplain, gave the invocation, and after
his prayer, he told how Zucco had returned to his handler's side after
he was shot. "Zucco was faithful to the end," he said. "He was a faithful
member of the New Orleans Police Department."
Police
spokesman Capt. Marlon Defillo thanked the crowd for coming to the service
and for their concern for Zucco and his partner. Then he read the poignant
"Dog's Poem After Death," about a dog who tells his master he will wait
for him outside the pearly gates because, "I'll miss you so much, if I
went in alone it wouldn't be heaven to me." 'Part of the family.' Police
Superintendent Edwin Compass spoke of Zucco's courage and dedication. "These
animals aren't just animals; they're part of the family," he said. "It's
a sad day for the New Orleans Police Department, because he was one of
our own." A wreath of white carnations trimmed with blue ribbons was brought
forward while the lonesome sound of "Amazing Grace" played on bagpipes
filled the air. After the 21-gun salute, an officer played taps on the
trumpet, and as the echo began, dogs in a nearby building began to bark,
saluting Zucco in their own way. When the service was over, people lined
up to offer their condolences to Hughes, saying the awkward things you
say to a man who has recently lost someone he loves. I asked him if he
would get another partner, and he said yes, that in a few weeks he'd have
a replacement dog. Could another dog replace Zucco? I asked, knowing the
answer as soon as I asked the question.
"No,"
he said, smiling sadly. "Not Zucco. Never."
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