memorial2001

Memorials to Fallen K-9s

2003 page 7
The F.A.S.. 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 RANGER
August 1, 1997 - March 3, 2003
Tour of duty with HCSO:
09/11/2000 - 03/03/2003

Partner: DFC John Seilback
Harford County Sheriff Office
45 S. Main St. - P.O. Box 150
Bel Air, MD 21014-0150
(410)838-6600

In Memory of K-9 Ranger
by John Seilback
On 03 March 2003, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office lost one of its K-9 deputies, K-9 Ranger. K-9 Ranger was a German Shepherd imported from the Czech Republic in September of 2000, when he was about 3 years old. K-9 Ranger was assigned to Deputy First Class John Seilback, and the team was the first in the agency to be trained by the Montgomery County Police Department K-9 Unit. Dfc Seilback & K-9 Ranger graduated second place from Patrol K-9 Class 29, missing first place by just a few points. The team, going by call sign K-9-7, hit the street in December of 2000. Less than one month later K-9 Ranger had his first tracking find, locating a suspect in a possible sexual assault hiding in his house after he had fled on foot from police. Thus started a productive, if short, career finding criminals and keeping the citizens of Harford County safe. K-9 Ranger’s final tracking apprehension occurred less than one month before his death, where he tracked and bit a suspect who had fled from MSP during a stolen vehicle pursuit. In the interim K-9 Ranger had tracked and located 18 criminals wanted on numerous felony and misdemeanor charges. These tracks resulted in K-9 Ranger being twice nominated for the USPCA (United States Police Canine Association) Region 3 Patrol Award, which he won for the fourth quarter of 2001. Winning this award also resulted in Dfc Seilback and K-9 Ranger being recognized by the Harford County Council with an Official Proclamation being issued to the team on 07 May 2002. Dfc. Seilback and K-9 Ranger also competed in the USPCA PD 1 ( Police Dog 1) trials, held in Martinsburg, W.Va., and Gaithersburg, MD. In both of these trials K-9 Ranger successfully won his PD1 Certificate, becoming the first K-9 in Sheriff’s Office history to do so. In the Martinsburg trials K-9 Ranger won Third Pace/Novice/Search class. At the Gaithersburg trials K9 Ranger made “National” level points, meaning he could have gone to the National PD1 competitions. Unfortunately K-9 Ranger broke his foot at the Gaithersburg trials and spent the next month on light duty. During that month K-9 Ranger was trained by the Baltimore City Police Department K-9 Unit in Narcotics Detection. K-9 Ranger finished class in about half of the time normally allotted for the training in finding drugs due to his zeal for work. Subsequently K-9 Ranger was the only cross- trained K9 in the Sheriff’s Office for a short while, until Dfc Gibbons and K-9 Spencer could be trained in narcotics work. From June to Ranger’s untimely death, he aided in the arrest of over a dozen suspects on a variety of drug charges. His work also led to 3 search warrants being executed and over $13,000 in cash and a handgun being seized in separate incidents. Dfc Seilback and K-9 Ranger also participated in numerous demonstrations for public groups, aided in crowd control in numerous potentially volatile situations, and conducted many foot patrols during their time working together. Counting tracking finds, narcotic arrests, and patrol assists, K-9 Ranger aided in the arrest of 60 subjects during his brief time with the Sheriff’s Office. On Thursday night, 27 February, K-9 Ranger fell extremely ill. Friday 28 February he was on intravenous support to aid in his deteriorating health. Sunday night 02 March K-9 Ranger’s health had become grave enough that surgery was necessary to attempt to save his life. Unfortunately, he did not recover from operation and died. K-9 Ranger was a joy to work with and his death is a great loss for his handler, Dfc John Seilback, the deputies of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, and the citizens of Harford County K-9 Ranger will be sorely missed.

Burial Dulaney Memorial Gardens
March 13, 2003 -Reception at Fallston Volunteer Fire Company, 2201 Carrs Mill Rd, Fallston, MD 21047. Reception starts at 1200 hrs. and will include some light refreshments. I will have some of Ranger's articles on display to honor his memory. The reception is being held first to accommodate those coming from out of county, as the funeral service is a very short distance away from I-83. Procession departed to Dulaney at 1330 hrs.. Funeral at Dulaney Memorial Gardens, K-9 Section, 200 East Padonia Rd, Timonium, MD 21093, burial time is for 1430 hrs.. Dismissal from grave site. K-9 units from all over MD will attend. Received emails from as far away as Canada and Australia who saw memorial on this site. I thank you all again for the care and concern during the past week, which has been very tough. (Those of you K-9's know what it's like.) The support given me has made a world of difference, you have my undying gratitude.

My sincerest thanks for those who have expressed their condolences either in person or by contacting me otherwise. Ranger's funeral was attended by K-9 Units from the following agencies: Baltimore City Police, Elkton Police, Howard County Police, Montgomery County Police, and Maryland State Police. We had a motorcade of about 60 cars and the procession was about 1/2 mile long and also included vehicles from Fallston Volunteer Fire Company. Both FVFC and Bel Air Volunteer Fire Co. did a "tower arch" with a giant US flag at the cemetery entrance. Memorial items were presented from both the HCSO and BPD K-9 Units, both of which were very touching. The service was very well done and I thank all that participated.

HARFORD SHERIFF'S WEBSITE

It is with great regret and sorrow that I report the passing of my beloved partner Ranger, who died on the operating table this morning around 00:15 hrs.. He had an aggravated infection of his pericardium, acute pancreatis, a ruptured intestine as the result of a blockage, and an aggressive form of cancer growing on his spleen. He was very miserable this evening and looked almost 8 months pregnant with all the fluids that were built up in his system. I was blessed with the opportunity to spend about 30 minutes with him prior to his surgery. Unfortunately, he did not survive. At least now he has relief from his pain. I am thankful to the Lord for blessing me with such a wonderful dog and cherish every memory of the past 2 1/2 years. He titled in the USPCA twice and even won a tracking award for a street apprehension, and was an outstanding street work dog. I shall miss him greatly. I thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this long, long weekend.
K-9 RANGER ID # 1979 tour September 11, 2000
to March 3, 2003.
Rest well, dear buddy, I love you. John

K9 UNIT
The HCSO's K-9 unit began in the late 1960s. The HCSO is responsible for both the jail and law enforcement in the county. Though we are all under the sheriff, the jail and L.E. sides are separate. I worked the L.E. side. The jail K-9 unit consists of 2 handlers with Rotties. The L.E. K-9 unit consists of 3 patrol dogs (GSD's )and 1 bomb dog( Choc. Lab). We had the 3rd handler waiting in the wings for the next class, so now we are down to 1 patrol and 1 bomb dog for the time being. It has been a long time since I worked with the actual 3 handler rotation. For over a year, I have been on call almost 24 hrs.. a day. Of course, I am now not on call for the time being. We care for a county with a population of over 240, 000 residents and have everything from inner city section 8 type housing to rural mansions and everything in between. We are the home of the Aberdeen Proving Ground and Edgewood Arsenal military installations. I-95, US Rt.1, CSX & Amtrack all come through our county, so we are very busy. Each K-9 handler will probably conduct about 60 or more building searches, several dozen tracks, and many, many drug scans every year.

Card Game Grudge Prompts Home Invasion Robbery
Contact: Ginger Rigney, PIO-Telephone: 410-836-5403-(July 29, 2002)
HARFORD COUNTY, MD: Two Edgewood men disgruntled over losing money in a card game have been charged with allegedly committing a home invasion robbery in hopes of stealing back their winnings. Harford County sheriff’s deputies arrested Kevin Turner, 27, and Andre Williams, 22, on July 29, 2002, after they allegedly forced their way into a home in the 600 block of Longwood Court in Edgewood around 2:10 a.m. The female resident of the home, 33 year old Carolyn Reece, hid in a closet and called 911. Reece told dispatchers that someone was in her house with weapons, and that she could hear them tying up her boyfriend, 29 year old Maurice Miles. Miles, an avid card player, had been winning money in card matches for about a week prior, and Turner and Williams showed up at the home under the pretext of playing another game of cards. When Miles opened the door, Williams allegedly pointed a gun at him and forced his way into the home. He then tied up Miles with tape, put a pillowcase over his head and beat him in the head with a handgun, ransacking the home for money. Sheriff’s deputies had the house surrounded with patrol units and a K-9 unit within three minutes. When deputies entered the house, Turner tried to pass himself off as a victim, saying someone else in the house was being beaten and robbed. Williams jumped out of a second floor window. Deputies arrested Turner and Deputy First Class John Seilback’s K-9 “Ranger” apprehended Williams as he tried to flee. Deputies recovered $850 from Williams along with Miles’ wallet and identification. Both men were charged with armed robbery, robbery, use of a handgun during the commission of a felony, first degree burglary, first- and second-degree assault, and theft of more than $300. Miles was taken by ambulance to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. He has since been released.

Bo Curry, Ranger's trainer in my basic K-9 class back in '00. He is a marvelous man and has been very supportive the past week, having lost his own partner prematurely back in '01.

Motorcade of about 60 cars and the procession was about 1/2 mile long and also included vehicles from Fallston Volunteer Fire Company. Both FVFC and Bel Air Volunteer Fire Co. did a "tower arch" with a giant USA flag at the cemetery entrance.

Granite Headstone

K-9s on salute graveside

Ranger's Tribute Table (cards received)

In Loving Memory of
K-9 FALCO
March 4, 2003

Partner: Deputy Eric C. Walker
Bannock County Sheriff's Dept.
ID
Office Sheriff Lorin W Nielsen 4322
N Old Hwy. 91 Pocatello, Idaho 83205 (208)236-7114

"The Once Again Prince"
by Irving Townsend
We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own
live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps,
we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality,
never fully understanding the necessary plan...

Deputy Eric C. Walker and his K-9 companion Falco, a Belgian Malinois, have been partners since October of 1997. He wasn't in ill health and was about nine years of age. Monday was their dog training day and Eric said he was like a puppy and had a great training day. We woke up Tuesday morning to find Falco dead. It was a bit of a shock and has been an adjustment for all of us, obviously more so for my husband Eric.

The Idaho State Journal, May 23, 2002
submitted by Katrina Walker
Falco was about 90 pounds. and the top of his head came up to my hip (about 34 inches) so he was big for a Malinois. He loved to work. He knew which day was work and would begin to pace the deck when it was getting time to go. He was a dual purpose dog; a hold and bark dog. He found quite a bit of drugs in his service with Bannock County. One of his largest finds was in the fall of 1999, when he found 178 lb.. of marijuana (worth about $404.00). They were bales wrapped in paper and contact paper.

(In photo above) June of 2000 where he found 90 lb.. of
marijuana. There are other types of drugs here, too that he found in different traffic stops. Falco also got a few bites in his time. It was all a lot of fun for him. We really miss him a lot. He was a good house dog, too. We were a little careful of him around the family the kids weren't allowed to have him inside unless we were home. Falco loved to get pets and was quite a leaner if you were petting him. I think he must have been one of the best, (although everyone thinks that of their dog). He and Eric made a great team and law enforcement here will miss them.

Reasons why I am so grateful
to have worked with him. Falco found just under one million dollars worth of drugs during his 5 1/2 year career. He has backed me up when I was alone and out numbered, he has entered into danger to keep me and other officers safer from it, and helped in apprehending rapists, attempted murderers, escaped, eluding and dangerous felons. He was kind and attentive company during long and quiet patrol hours and he made me look good in the fulfilling of my duties. I was looking forward to life with him after his retirement, but his time on Earth was cut short. I am grateful for the memories he left and the love and appreciation people like yourself have shown. Thank you again.

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