Sad News for the Seattle K-9 Force

Freddie, a Seattle PD bomb squad member for more than six years, has died. He was taken to the vet Saturday, where he required surgery to remove his spleen and multiple transfusions. Unfortunately, he died soon after the surgery, although he had been revived prior to the surgery when his heart stopped.

Freddie and his partner, 24-year veteran Officer Craig Williamson, had been together since 2003 and had received numerous honors including the Award for Excellence at the 2008 Seattle Police Foundation awards ceremony and being named a premier team by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, which trained Freddie.

Our condolences to Officer Williamson on the loss of his faithful companion.

Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!

Meet Buford, K-9 Extraordinaire

My posts have been a little few and far between this week because I’m working at the community festival surrounding the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement.

Today, I was honored to meet Buford, one of Canton’s finest.  (And I apologize, Buford, for the smeary picture – not sure what happened.  Let’s just say we are digitizing your face so you don’t blow your undercover status!)

Hard at work protecting and serving the populace of Canton, 7-year old Buford rides with Patrol Officer Gilmore of the Canton Police Department.

I think Buford was a little disappointed when he got out of the car ready to work, and only got his picture taken instead of using his training and skills.

Canton’s K-9 force consists of 11 dog/officer pairs.  They are used for search and rescue, bad-guy tracking, and drug sniffing.

Average annual cost of food:  $300

Average cost of dog acquisition and training:  $15,000

Sleeping better at night knowing Buford is on the job:  priceless!

Until next time,

Good day, and good dog!

Don’t Police K-9 Handlers Receive any Training????

This is the second time recently that I’ve seen articles telling about police K-9 handlers leaving their dogs in a car in extreme heat, causing the death of the dogs.  The most recent one was a handler in Nottinghamshire, England, who left two dogs to die in his personal car on the hottest day of the year, when temperatures reached 85 degrees.  He may be prosecuted under Britain’s animal cruelty laws.  This brings to mind a couple of questions.

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Power company hosts search & rescue dog event

I hate to brag, but I have to say again how proud I am of my day-job employer, American Electric Power.  The company’s Appalachian Power subsidiary recently hosted the K-9 teams from the Virginia State Police at their Smith Mountain Dam for a training exercise.

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Age is no barrier for this police K-9

From today’s Canton Repository (my local newspaper):  Stark County is hosting the annual Police & Firefighters’ Games.  While most of the events center on the officers themselves, such as track & field, tennis, and other athletic pursuits, there is a K-9 event for officers and their 4-legged partners.

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The life of a police dog

From the Minneapolis-St Paul Star Tribune:  Gunner, a 2-year old German Shepherd spends his nights cruising the streets of Blaine, MN as part of a police K-9 team.  Off-duty, he’s just another dog…or is he?

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Loss of a Hero

From Berea, Ohio:  K-9 officer Ciro was put to sleep Saturday, two weeks after receiving a devastating diagnosis of cancer.  He was just five years old.  Swollen lymph nodes were found during a routine vet visit, and tests revealed a very aggressive form of lymphatic cancer.

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Memorial Day

In honor of the Memorial Day holiday, doggies.com is proud to present this list of dogs who made the ultimate sacrifice from 1965 – 1967 during the Vietnam War.  For more information about military K-9 units, visit USWarDogs.org.

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