Died – 4\/8\/19
\nHandler – Cpl. Robert Barrett<\/p>\n
\u2018Best Partner Ever\u2019: Officer mourns loyal K-9\u2019s passing<\/p>\n
He erupted into 75 pounds of snarling fury on command. At home with five children, Britt was a lovable family pet who never caused problems. The late German Shepherd\/Belgian Malinois K-9 knew his place in life. On Monday, just a few months into a well deserved retirement, he died of old age. \u201cHe never showed aggression towards anyone unless I told him to,\u201d said handler Dover Police Cpl. Robert Barrett, who mourned his loyal partner\u2019s passing. For 11-plus years of duty \u2014 a four-legged crime fighter\u2019s career typically spans five years \u2014 Britt proved invaluable assistance during hundreds of responses, including 18 apprehensions through biting. Many misbehaving humans have painful memories, too. When they didn\u2019t comply with surrender orders, the suddenly fierce canine K-9 bared his teeth as ordered to quickly de-escalate any situation. \u201cMost of the time they would give up before it came to that, which is what we want,\u201d according to Cpl. Barrett. Britt\u2019s career highlight was detecting a then-record amount of heroin in June 2015. The historical feat came after a \u201ccold traffic stop\u201d that didn\u2019t start as a drug investigation. \u201cNobody is 100 percent perfect, but he was super reliable and trained to his fullest capability,\u201d Cpl. Barrett said. Now, Britt\u2019s cremated remains reside under Cpl. Barrett\u2019s deer stand in the woods following burial. The K-9 died just two months shy of his 14th birthday. \u201cWe knew it was coming, it wasn\u2019t caused by anything in particular,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was very rough on Monday.\u201d At some point early on, Cpl. Barrett realized he\u2019d found the ultimate work teammate. Former officer partners didn\u2019t take it personally. \u201cThere\u2019s an inside story when I told my best friend and partner at a demonstration that Britt was the best partner I\u2019d ever had,\u201d he said. \u201cI was afraid that I might have hurt his feelings and my friend said \u2018I understand.\u2019\u201d Britt and Cpl. Barrett partnered up for 13 years, sniffing out drugs and controlling dangerous situations regularly arising during police work in Delaware\u2019s capital city. He could locate six different types of narcotics, along with apprehending and tracking when called upon. \u201cI spent more time with him than my kids, my wife, everybody,\u201d Cpl. Barrett said. The K-9 was ready for every call. \u201cBritt loved coming to work and got excited each day to jump in the patrol car,\u201d spokesman Master Cpl. Mark Hoffman said. \u201cAs long as Britt was healthy and eager enough to do the job, he was going to be allowed to do it.\u201d Britt had a special effect on everyone good and bad and was unforgettable to say the least. \u201cIt\u2019s of course tough on me right now, but my wife is probably more upset than I am,\u201d the officer said. Protecting the community. Once at home and free from another day\u2019s K-9 duty, Britt easily de-stressed. \u201cHe was a goofy dog, he loved to play, everything was a game to him, nothing was serious,\u201d Cpl. Barrett said. \u201cHe was a great family dog.\u201d Dover PD currently has four K-9 units, but Cpl. Barrett won\u2019t join one of them. An upcoming promotion to master corporal is likely, along with a supervisory role that comes with it. There\u2019s no under-playing the impact Britt made and the importance of canines now doing their duty to protect and serve the community. \u201cA police K-9 is just as valuable and respected as any other officer in our agency,\u201d Cpl. Hoffman said. \u201cThe K-9 is a great tool in apprehensions, tracking, and drug\/explosives detection. Their sight, sound, and smell abilities far exceed that of a human being.\u201d Much of the police dogs time is spent on the streets of Dover. \u201cThe majority of our K9\u2019s are assigned to patrol shifts, so often times it is not just the handler that forms bonds with the K9 partners, but all of their working partners,\u201d Cpl. Hoffman said. \u201cJust by working with the K-9s on shift, many officers learn the working techniques of each dog, their personality, and so on. \u201cBritt was a very social dog and enjoyed being around people, especially fellow officers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died – 4\/8\/19 Handler – Cpl. Robert Barrett \u2018Best Partner Ever\u2019: Officer mourns loyal K-9\u2019s passing He erupted into 75 pounds of snarling fury on command. At home with five children, Britt was a lovable family pet who never caused problems. The late German Shepherd\/Belgian Malinois K-9 knew his place in life. On Monday, just …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[104],"class_list":["post-6824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-de"],"yoast_head":"\n