 Memorials
to Fallen K-9s 2003 page 2 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 BRYSON LODD January 24, 2003  Partner: Deputy Bob Rinfrette Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit 301 Court Street - Little Valley, New York 14755-1090 716-938-9191 - 1-800-443-3403 (New York State Only)
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Deputy Robert Rinfrette knows some people won't get it. They won't understand why he's having such a hard time saying goodbye to a dog. But Bryson, a 7-year-old German shepherd, wasn't just a dog. He was Deputy Rinfrette's partner. Bryson is the first member of the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's K-9 unit to die in the line of duty. He died Jan. 24, 2003, following a traffic accident on Interstate 86. "With the Columbia tragedy and everything else that's happening, I know I'm not the only one suffering," Deputy Rinfrette said, referring to Saturday's loss of the space shuttle with seven astronauts aboard. But it's his grief over Bryson's loss, that's giving him nightmares and keeping him awake at night. Deputy Rinfrette is recovering from injuries he sustained in the accident. He was struck by a pickup truck while standing on the road. He tried to save Bryson that day, taking him to a veterinarian while ignoring his own injuries. Sheriff Ernest Dustman finally had to order Deputy Rinfrette to go to the hospital. "I lost my best friend, my partner, my buddy and my son," Deputy Rinfrette said of Bryson. "I wish I could have went with him. I just hated to see someone I love so much suffer that much." He never married. Deputy Rinfrette has devoted his life to law enforcement and his dogs. He said it's impossible for him to not think of his dogs as his children. Bryson was mortally injured when a tractor-trailer struck the rear of Deputy Rinfrette's patrol vehicle along Interstate 86. Deputy Rinfrette was parked on the shoulder of the highway investigating a minor accident at the time. Bosch, another of Deputy Rinfrette's K-9s, survived the accident. A memorial for Bryson is planned for Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Limestone Fire Hall near where Deputy Rinfrette lives. The public is invited to the service. Fellow K-9 handler Deputy Christa Heckathorn and Foster (Pa.) Township Police Lt. David Gomes are organizing the event. Deputy Heckathorn said K-9 handlers and police officers from across New York and Pennsylvania are planning to attend. During his 26-year career, Deputy Rinfrette and his dogs have helped police agencies around the country. They've been called upon to search for missing children, drugs and bombs. Deputy Heckathorn said the community is also responding. "The outpouring of support has been incredible," she said. Deputy Rinfrette and Bryson are well-known in the region. Each year they would appear at local elementary schools and fairs. Deputy Rinfrette said for the last seven years he and Bryson attended every Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) graduation for elementary school children in the Olean area. Lt. Gomes has known Deputy Rinfrette for 23 years. Yet he found it difficult to describe the bond between Deputy Rinfrette and Bryson. "If you're a K-9 handler, it's not like you can leave the dogs at the office, they come home with you," he said. "If you're K-9, you're K-9 24/7. What a lot of people can't understand is the devotion of your entire life to something like this." As close as K-9 handlers are to their dogs, Deputy Rinfrette's relationship with Bryson went that much deeper, he said. "Whenever Bob went out on patrol, he always took his number one dog with him, and that was Bryson," he said. "It's hard to explain. Everything about Bryson was about Bob and everything about Bob was about Bryson."   t |
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K-9 RICO January, 24, 2003  Partner: Deputy Chris Picou Lincoln County Sheriff's Dept. MS 215 Justice St. - Brookhaven, MS 39601-3324 Phone:(601)833-5231 - (601) 754-5700
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parents' bedroom window. "I had to break the window because it was froze shut," said Picou, his cheek and a right hand bleeding from cuts and burns. Five family pets, 3 dogs, including K-9 Rudy, who was in training and two cats inside the home because of the cold weather -- did not survive. The low temperature Thursday night and Friday morning was 14 degrees. Included were a new narcotics dog that Picou had recently purchased and his long-time narcotics enforcement companion, Rico. "He was my boy...," Picou said about the dog that was sleeping in the bedroom with Chris and his wife. "I tried to get him to jump out the window, but I guess he panicked and didn't understand." Brookhaven Fire Department Chief Paul Cartwright said the home, which was once occupied by Mayor Bill Godbold, was fully involved when firefighters arrived on the scene around 5:17 a.m. Godbold lived in the home in the mid 1980s, fire department officials said. Laurie Picou said appliances in the home were turned off. Cartwright said a cause of the fire had not been determined. The state fire marshal was called to the scene to start an investigation. "It's going to be a while because we've got to let it cool down before we can inspect the fire scene," Cartwright said about determining a cause. Picou's home was the second Lincoln County Sheriff's Department's officer's home destroyed by fire in less than two years. Deputy Sudie Palomarez's home on Highway 583 burned in November 2001. Lincoln County Sheriff Lynn Boyte and other department officials were in the process of setting up fund-raisers to help the Picous. A special account has been set up at State Bank, officials said. Despite the tragedy, Chris Picou managed to find a small bit of humor in the situation. "I'm going to find a way to get in the paper," said Picou, who is often featured in news reports on his successful drug enforcement activities. Laurie Picou was hopeful and said the family will be all right as it recovers from the fire. She was thankful that Chris and their children survived. "That's all I need. Everything else is trivial," she said.
 cards
mailed: 1/28/03 |
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K-9 QUANDI January, 19, 2003  Partner: Capt. Officer Bob Mitchell Frankfort Police Dept. IN Cayton County Sheriff Dept. 301 E. Walnut St. - Frankfort, IN 46041 
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Dan Shaw, Staff Writer 765-659-4622, ext. 434 - shaw@ftimes.com Tuesday, January 28, 2003 Every dog might have his day, but few are remembered for the service he gave to an entire community. Former Frankfort Police officer Bob Mitchell, owner of the recently deceased K-9, Quandi, says his dog’s passing away should not go unnoticed. He tells a story in which Quandi once found the suspect of an armed robbery at Village Pantry, 559 Delphi Avenue. Mitchell said Quandi tracked the scent for five blocks, leading police to the robber’s apartment. When the suspect answered the door, he still wore the shoe polish used to disguise his face in the robbery only moments before, Mitchell said. “He was a good tracking dog” Mitchell said. “That was pretty impressive — even for people who spend a lot of time with K-9s.” Quandi, a Dutch-bred German shepherd, served on the Frankfort Police Department 1992-99. During his career, Quandi had 73 apprehensions and made more than 100 appearances at schools and other civic events. He was involved in many police functions, including the tracking of suspects and sniffing out narcotics. Mitchell said Quandi helped confiscate more than 350 pounds of marijuana during his career. Less than a month from his 13th birthday, Quandi died on Jan. 19. The night before the dog’s death, Mitchell said he had played ball with Quandi. “The next morning he was acting really weird, really shaky on his feet. And then he laid down and went to sleep,” said Mitchell. “But he had been very healthy and active up to the end.” Mitchell, who served the Frankfort Police Department for 15 years, retired in 2000. During that time he trained Quandi to perform the work of a K-9. Mitchell said that process entailed 700 hours of training the first year and at least two hours a day after. “It’s hard to explain the bond created between a K-9 handler and his dog,” said Mitchell. “They actually become part of your family.” Mitchell said he will cremate Quandi’s remains but has no plans to hold a special service. Frankfort Police Officer Jeff Matthews said Frankfort has never gotten a replacement K-9 for Quandi because of the expense of buying a dog and training it. cards
mailed out April 1, 2003 |
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Residents,
comrades honor K-9 officer By Michael Baker -The Facts (979) 265-7411 FREEPORT — About 60 residents and peace officers and seven dogs from around the county gathered Monday morning to pay tribute to a fallen officer — Argus, the Department’s K-9. The police dog died Oct. 7 of apparent heart problems while he was treated at a Lake Jackson veterinary office, Police Chief Henrietta Gonzalez said. Several officers wiped away tears during the memorial service for the 10-year-old Hungarian shepherd in the Freeport Municipal Park pavilion. The ceremony was complete with hymns, prayers and a flag ceremony. “He was loyal and dedicated to the profession of law enforcement,” Gonzalez said. “He’ll be greatly missed by all of us.” Argus joined the police force in 1993 after coming to the United States from Hungary. Working closely with his handler, Sgt. Allen Lawson, Argus’ primary duty was sniffing out narcotics and assisting with crowd control, Gonzalez said. He was very dedicated to his work, she said. “He would run all of us to death,” Gonzalez said. “Quitting was not his idea until he finished the task.” Argus was popular in the department and the community, Gonzalez said, particularly with children at the schools he visited. He also enjoyed an occasional game of fetch with the officers, she said. City Attorney Wallace Shaw, who led the prayers for the service, and Lake Jackson Police Department Dog Handler, David Cisneros, accompanied by his dog, Angel, reminded the crowd of the ancient bond between man and dog. “It’s a sacred relationship, one that God looks favorably on,” Shaw said. “It’s one that he blesses and encourages.” Cisneros said the bond is especially strong for dog handlers, who work closely with the dogs on a daily basis. Sometimes, they even forget they’re working with a dog, he said. “We all go through times of embarrassment when we’re caught talking to our partner who cannot talk back,” Cisneros said. |
