Died – 1\/30\/20
\nHandler – Officer Sean Hanse<\/p>\n
Romy, Sandy Springs\u2019 first K9 officer, has died<\/p>\n
The Sandy Springs Police Department is mourning the loss of its first K9 officer, Romy. In a message posted on Facebook Jan. 29 by Officer Sean Hanse and his wife, Nancy Culotta Hanse, Mike Dewald, Hanse\u2019s former K9 partner, announced Romy, a female Belgian malinois, would be put to sleep the following day at the Animal Hospital of Sandy Springs. \u201cWith great regret I ceremoniously invite you to pay respects to Retired Sandy Springs Canine, Romy, who at the age of 16 has succumbed to cancer and will be laid to rest. \u2026 Romy is a dual-purpose canine that has had a long career stemming the flow of illicit drugs through the city and has apprehended numerous violent criminals.\u201d Hanse said Romy worked for the city from 2007-12, and in 2007 he was able to acquire the dog from a private donor who was later revealed as his father. Romy, who had mouth cancer tumors that were removed, but the disease returned within two months.\u201cIt\u2019s hard. It really sucks,\u201d Hanse said of losing Romy. \u201cLast night was the first night without Romy. We have a labradoodle (Parker). My wife\u2019s looking at me and it\u2019s hard. She always brought Romy and our labradoodle out for walks at night. She\u2019s devastated. The kids are devastated. We’re a dog family, so we expected (Romy wouldn\u2019t live forever).\u201d As a K9 officer, Romy \u201cwas phenomenal\u201d and had many talents, he said. \u201cHer big strong point was she was a good tracking dog,\u201d Hanse said. \u201cShe would find people hiding in the woods. She was also great at finding articles\/evidence and at finding drugs.\u201d Once Hanse brought Romy home, she became part of the family, especially in retirement. \u201cAfter I retired her, I went back to the road for a few years ago and then got my new dog Igor,\u201d he said. \u201cMy wife Nancy, that was her dog after the dog retired. She brought that dog to her workplace. It just became part of our life.\u201d Culotta Hanse added, \u201cShe lived with us longer in retirement than she worked. \u2026 She\u2019s older than our kids. I can\u2019t even explain it. My friend put it the best when we questioned if we made the right decision (to euthanize Romy). It was a selfless choice for her. To not have let her go would have been selfish since she needed to have peace. She was put to rest in honor. She was recognized for everything she did on and off duty. I can\u2019t ask for any more than that. \u201cThe community, the friends, the department, it helps in grieving.\u201d We Ride to Provide, a Porterdale-based organization that raises funds to honor fallen K9 officers and aids police dogs in other ways, paid for Romy\u2019s cremation and an urn, Hanse said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died – 1\/30\/20 Handler – Officer Sean Hanse Romy, Sandy Springs\u2019 first K9 officer, has died The Sandy Springs Police Department is mourning the loss of its first K9 officer, Romy. In a message posted on Facebook Jan. 29 by Officer Sean Hanse and his wife, Nancy Culotta Hanse, Mike Dewald, Hanse\u2019s former K9 partner, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-8066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-ga"],"yoast_head":"\n