 Memorials
to Fallen K-9s
2004-F The F.A.S.T. Co. donates sets of memorial 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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In Loving Memory of K-9 FLIK - "FREE DOG" January 22, 1994-October 7, 2004 
 Handler: Officer Greg Casem Ferguson Police Department 222 S Florissant Rd. St Louis, MO (314) 522-3100  Mario Lopez the host to Pet Star on the Animal Planet Channel +++++++++
Ferguson (MO)
Says Goodbye to Star Canine Officer -
Ferguson, MO -
10/24/2004 -
Joe Scott - Of the St. Louis Suburban Journals
Flik was the city of Ferguson's best
friend. For several years, he was the Ferguson
Police Department's canine unit. He endeared himself
to thousands of students at schools and others in a
number of public appearances on behalf of the
department. He also helped shine a national
spotlight on the city when his handler, Officer Greg
Casem, taught him to open and close the squad car
door. That led to the opportunity to perform his
trick on Animal Planet's "Pet Star" and the show
"Amazing Animals."But Flik's storied life has come
to end. He died in Casem's arms Oct. 7.
Veterinarians discovered fluid around Flik's heart
and two cancerous masses in his abdomen. The city
will dedicate a dogwood tree in Flik's memory at
4:30 p.m. today (Wednesday) at Ferguson Police
headquarters, 222 South Florissant Road. As he
talked about Flik, Casem looked like he had just
lost his best friend. "It took me an hour to make
that decision," Casem said. "I didn't want him to be
in pain. He fell asleep in my arms. I had to take
his badge off. That was hard." </><>Casem was no
longer using Flik in day-to-day police work. Flik
was semi-retired after he began having difficulty
getting into the land rover Casem drives. "We were
not going to fully retire him," Casem said. "We
planned to use him for demonstrations and for
showing him to the kids. He was always so great with
kids." </><>Casem said he had used Flik for a
demonstration a few days before he died, and he
seemed fine. "He never showed any illness," Casem
said. "But the following Wednesday, I came home from
training and he looked sad." A drive around the
neighborhood failed to cheer Flik up. "He didn't
bark, and he always barks," he said. Later that
night, Flik didn't get up to go outside, and Casem
took him to the Bridgeton Animal Hospital.
In addition to
being featured the animal shows, Flik was 10 minutes
away from appearing on "The Tonight Show" with Jay
Leno. However, Carson Kressley from "Queer Eye for
the Straight Guy" went 10 minutes long, Casem
said.Maybe it was something Flik said. "We did meet
Carson," Casem said. "He was in a hurry and crossed
in front of us at a hallway intersection. Flik
barked at him. I think he scared him."</>submitted
by Jim Cortina, Dir. CPWDA &
submitted by:
Russ Hess
UPDATE:Thank you for doing that for us. My new dog is a very high drive dog. His name is Dan'o. He came to me named Cert. But we at Ferguson have a Cert Unit Civilian emergency response team, so I wanted to change his name and DAN'O was picked. Anyway he is again a very high drive dog and comes to me from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Mounties. He is two and acts like a two year old dog. Lots of play but very serious in his work especially the apprehension portion of our training. We have bumped heads a couple of times but I think he now knows who is boss. ************** Flik was always wanting to work, ready to go at a moments notice and never wanted to quit. When at the station, he would jog in circles around Officer Casem in anticipation of going back on the street. While in the patrol car, he would relentlessly bark-waiting for action. This was a dog of astonishing talent. Officer Casem and Flik were certified through the United States Police Canine Association, Region 16. Flik had received several awards through local groups and Shepherd Clubs for tracking, evidence recovery, suspect apprehension and finding several hundreds pounds of narcotics. One award for locating a missing 10 year old girl. Fliks many accomplishments was his ability to work a crowd. In the "Flik" of a switch, he could go from being the strong, aggressive police canine to the rub-my-belly fun loving dog. Flik and his partner Officer Casem had a relationship that transcended that of just "The Job." Flik was taught by Officer Casem to open and close the car door. This trick had landed both Officer Casem and Flik to appear on Amazing Animal Planet and Pet Star in Hollywood, CA. Flik was ill for only one day, until his death. Flik was a very special part of our Ferguson Family. He won the hearts of many and he will be greatly missed. 2003 OUTSTANDING K-9 AWARDS http://www.gsdcstl.com/index.html Outstanding K-9 Service Awards Each year, the German Shepherd Dog Club of St. Louis, Inc. awards its Outstanding K-9 Service Awards. The awards are open to all German Shepherd K-9 Dogs located/headquartered within the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area: this includes the city of St. Louis; the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis, and Warren; and the Illinois counties of Clinton, Jersey, Madison, Monroe, & St. Clair. The Outstanding K-9 Awards will be presented in 7 different categories. The Outstanding K-9 Awards have been given to K-9 teams from the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area according to categories of performance since 1991. The German Shepherd Dog Club of St. Louis, Inc., invites K-9 handlers to nominate their dog in the categories listed below for the annual awards which will be given each Fall. AWARDS SUSPECT APPREHENSION Greg Casem & "Flik" Ferguson Police Dept. EVIDENCE DETECTION Greg Casem & "Flik" Ferguson Police Dept. K-9 FANTA August 2004  Handler: Mike Smith Barton County Sheriff's Office 1416 Kansas Great Bend, KS 67530 620 793-1876 Greg Armstrong, sheriff@bartoncounty.net The K-9 Unit of the Barton County Sheriff’s Office was first established in 1990. Since its inception, the Barton County Sheriff’s Office has had the privilege of having four service dogs thanks to various community contributions with the latest being “Donna”, a Belgian Malinois, who began her service in 2002. The K-9 Unit is designed to give deputies another tool to locate illegal drugs, find lost persons, pursue suspects on foot, uncover evidence, and most importantly provide additional officer and public safety. Deputy Michael Scothorn (Handler) and Donna have undergone numerous hours of training and also provide assistance on a regular basis to other state and local agencies in this region. Together they have assisted in many cases and have been very successful. Submitted by the Kansas Police Dog Association.
In
Loving Memory of
Falco did
demonstrations in the schools. The Scully Family (wife Kathleen, 25 year
old son, David) enjoyed and accepted Falco as the family member he was. He
had the run of the house. He had been hit by a car while tracking on lead,
and by a police cruiser. Assaults had taken their toll during crowd control
and eventually, Falco was diagnosed with three herniated disc. Surgery was
performed January 2003, with follow-up physical and water therapy. He
responded very well to the therapy, but in December
2003, he began having problems with coordination. He was diagnosed with
degenerative nerve damage in his back.
Rather than leave Falco alone, K9 Falco and Handler
Dennis J. Scully both retired from the Taunton Police Department on 26
December 2003. Falco loved to ride in the car, so he went everywhere. He
needed to be lifted in and out, because he could not climb or jump. His
condition continued to worsen. On
February 11, 2004, the decision was made, when K9 Falco could not control
his rear legs, and he was euthanized.
***************
I
went to the viewing of the Norfolk County K9, Axel, in January. Happen to
be friends with the three K9 Handlers from Norfolk. Falco had trained with all three Norfolk County K9's.
We had an old fashioned
"Irish Wake" on March 4th
2004 for Falco at my home. Many of the Canine Handlers from around
Massachusetts, along with officers Falco worked with, family and friends
attended. MA-Vest-A-Dog's Kathy Hines & Sandy Marcal, who were instrumental
in outfitting many of the Massachusetts Canine with bullet & stab proof
vests, were king enough to attend. A permanent urn was presented to me,
where Falco's Ashes were sealed inside, so he will always be with us. Meanwhile, the Taunton PD still has two K9 left. Handler Steve Correia
had K9 Rexx, and Handler Robert Swartz has K9 Rex. Both dogs have been very
well trained, as Falco was, by Capt. Jim Ballinger of the Plymouth County
Sheriff's Department, and Lt. Ken Ballinger of the Barnstable County
Sheriff's Department.
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