 Memorials
to Fallen K-9s 2003 page 37 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
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K-9 AMUR September 22, 2003  Partner: Officer Geroge Gikas Essex County Correctional Facility & Sheriff's Department Middleton, MA |
Amur was a
K-9 with the Essex County Correctional Facility and
Sheriff's Department in Middleton Massachusetts since March 1997. He was a beautiful Czech German Shepard. My husband, George Gikas, was his proud handler. We lost Amur September 22, 2003, one of the hardest days of our lives. He was not only a great working K-9, but a much loved family member. He started to get sick and one week later he was gone. He was supposed to have a biopsy of his liver but he never made it for that appointment. He had liver cancer and it progressed much too fast. He was only eight and a half when he died - much too young and very unexpected. We were not prepared to lose him so soon, although I don't think we would ever have been prepared not to have him with us. Amur was always more than happy to go to work. He enjoyed every day whether he was on his regular shift at the jail, at a school demo, or out on a call from a local police department. At home he was just a regular dog who not only protected his partner, but our entire family. When he came in the house each night he would check to make sure our children were in the bedrooms then he would go have his dinner. He was an extremely protective dog who always made me feel safe. It has been very hard getting through the past month and a half. Amur will always be loved, remembered and extremely missed. He was an honor to have as part of our family.  I am proud to also say that on October 29, 2003 George picked up his new partner, Asmar. He is almost 2 and a ball of energy. They have begun training and will be certified and working at the jail together soon. We are looking forward to getting to know and love Asmar but we will never forget our Amur. The new dog is great - he is the complete opposite of Amur, but we are getting used to him. We did find out something strange though - Arson (the new dog, we changed his name) was one puppy out of seven and one of the other puppies in his litter was named Amur - so we feel that our new dog was approved and sent to us from our Amur. |
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In
Loving Memory of
K-9 NUTZ October 3, 2003  Partner: Officer Jeff Herro New Berlin Police Dept. address: Public Safety Building 13600 West National Avenue New Berlin, WI 53151 ph: 262 782 6640  New Berlin - Nutz the police dog drew national attention three years ago when he scared off a would-be burglar at a kennel, then rewarded himself by raiding a nearby Waukesha Sentry store and feasting on a $30 rib roast. |
Police Nutz and his handler, New Berlin Police Officer Jeff Herro, visit with Sentry Foods customers after his misadventure in 2000. The German shepherd, an eight-year veteran of the New Berlin Police Department, is also being remembered by officers as a strong force in narcotics investigations, having sniffed out close to $100,000 in drugs and money during his service. Nutz died Oct. 3 after his handler, Officer Jeff Herro, took him to an emergency veterinarian the evening of Oct. 2 with stomach torsion, a condition in which a dog's stomach twists, cutting off blood flow. According to police, surgery was performed at 2 a.m., but after Herro later consulted with the department's regular veterinarian, it was determined that Nutz's condition would not improve. "Jeff then made the decision of letting his partner go at 5:45 a.m. so he wouldn't suffer anymore," Sgt. Joe Volz said in a statement about Nutz's death. The Police Department recently finished a community fund-raising effort to replace the department's two aging K-9 Unit dogs, Nutz and another German shepherd, Niko. About $20,000 was raised - more than enough to purchase two dogs. In a coincidence Volz called "bittersweet," the new dog, Bac, finished his obedience and tracking training on the same day Nutz died. Nutz gained notoriety in March 2000 when at age 8, he scared off an intruder at a pet motel where he had been staying while Herro was on vacation. New Berlin's police dogs live with their handlers, who continuously train and care for the dogs. After thwarting a robbery at Best Care Pet Motel in Waukesha, Nutz escaped from the kennel and made his way to the Fox Run Sentry grocery store nearly 2 miles away. Nutz bolted through a delivery door and ran straight to the meat counter, where he was caught on store security cameras munching on the pricey roast. Chased off by store workers and a deliveryman, Nutz was later found about a mile away. The dog made national news after his adventure and also appeared on the television news magazine show "Inside Edition." Nutz "had the delicate nose that could pick out the best cut of meat from the butcher shop display," Volz said in the statement, alluding to the Sentry incident. But Volz and Police Chief Gary Blunt said New Berlin police will also remember Nutz for more than his 15 minutes of fame. "He was a beautiful animal," Blunt said. "He really was a nice size, and he was a very intelligent dog, from what I remember working on the street with him." Volz said dog-handlers such as Herro develop a strong, emotional bond with their canines, and that for Herro, letting his partner go was "one of the hardest (decisions) he will ever have to make." "He goes to work with you, sleeps at the foot of your bed and puts in countless hours of training with you," Volz said. "You basically spend more time with this animal than you do with any other member of your family." New Berlin's new police dog, Bac, will be introduced to the community on Tuesday during a 7 p.m. Common Council meeting at New Berlin's City Hall, 3805 S. Casper Drive. Wisconsin . submitted by Jim Cortina |
| In Loving Memory of K-9 NICO November 4, 2003  Partner: Linda Binkley
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Wayward WA K-9 is Euthanized; A Sad
Story
Edmonds, Washington - 11/5/2003 - SEATTLE TIMES A longtime police dog with a
reputation for biting innocent people was euthanized last night.
Nico, an 8-year-old German shepherd, was removed from its handler Oct.
24 and quarantined by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office. On Oct.
23, the dog had escaped from a backyard kennel at Edmonds Police
Officer Linda Binkley's house in Marysville and attacked a jogger, said
Snohomish County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen. Binkley
was not home at the time and is not being disciplined, Stern
said. Jorgensen said the female jogger sustained substantial
injuries to her legs, shoulder and back. The jogger was the fifth
person Nico had bitten disobediently since 1997. Stern said yesterday
that he decided to euthanize Nico after the dog's veterinarian said the
animal was likely to continue to attack innocent victims.
Jorgensen said Nico's routine quarantine ended last night. Stern said
yesterday he expected the dog to be euthanized immediately
afterward. Joe Bennett, an attorney representing two of the five
dog-bite victims, has filed claims with the city of Edmonds disclosing
his intention to file civil lawsuits on behalf of his clients.
When Bennett heard that Nico was being destroyed, he angrily said that
the dog was "erratic" and the department should have addressed its
biting well before the most recent attack. Edmonds Police Chief
David Stern said yesterday he could not respond to Bennett's complaint
because the incidents are likely to be the subject of legal
action. In April 1997, Nico bit a 10-year-old girl outside
Binkley's former Everett home after the officer briefly left the dog
unsupervised, according to an Everett police report. In January 2000,
Nico bit Lynnwood police Officer Al Correa's leg instead of a fleeing
suspect. Binkley and Nico had been called in to help
Correa. Bennett said that in April 2000, Nico bit a
15-year-old Marysville girl in the thigh as she was walking through
Binkley's new neighborhood in Marysville. Binkley was with the dog in
her front yard at the time. The girl, who is now 19, has filed a claim
with the city saying she intends to sue. In March 2001,
Nico bit Edmonds Community College student Adam Taylor 10 times in his
legs as he tried to turn in a term paper. Taylor, who suffered
permanent scarring, had no idea police were doing a training exercise
on campus, Bennett said. Taylor filed a claim with the city at the end
of 2001. "These were accidents waiting to happen," Bennett
said. Monroe police Sgt. Eduardo "Ed" Jany said yesterday that he
and his police dog, Chico, have trained with Nico and Binkley.
"I've never seen anything that would send up a red flag with that dog,"
Jany said.
submitted by Jim Cortina -- no more info on this sad story.
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