Memorials to Fallen K-9s
 2009-Z
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
In Loving Memory of
K9 ZEUS
July 31,2009
  
Officer Robert Knoth
New Paltz Police Department
23 Plattekill Avenue
New Paltz, NY 12561-1918
(845) 255-7112
 www.newpaltzpolice.org

Two upstate police officers injured after patrol cars collide
An upstate police officer was making a U-turn when he and another officer collided.  Town of New Paltz police officers Robert Knoth
 and Joseph Judge were flown to Albany Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries on Friday.  State police say both officers
were northbound responding to a residential burglar alarm when the officer in the patrol car in front was called off by a dispatcher.
  That officer was making a U-turn when his car was struck on the driver's side by the second patrol car. Both cars then went off the road and struck a utility pole.  Police haven't identified which officer was in which car.
Knoth's police dog, Zeus, was also hurt in the crash and taken to a local emergency veterinary clinic, where he later died.
 More about K-9 ZEUS
The Town of New Paltz Police Department K-9 division was formed in 1995.  Since then, two dogs have proudly served the department and community.  K-9 Nero was the first in the department serving with handler Robert Knoth from 1995 to 2004.  Our current K-9 is Zeus is a ear old German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix imported from Czechoslovakia. Officer Knoth and K9 Zeus attended the Orange County Sheriff's Department K9 Academy in 2004.  The K-9 academy consisted of 16 weeks of Patrol School and 6 weeks of Narcotic detection.  The basic functions of the K-9 unit are: Tracking of suspects or missing people, conducting building searches, article searches and evidence recovery, disorderly crowd control, community policing events, the apprehension of suspects and assisting patrol and detective divisions in day to day functions of the department and other surrounding agencies.  K-9 Zeus is also trained in the detection of many narcotic odors.

Memorial to be held Monday for New Platz police K9  8/20/09  New York 
The New Paltz Police Department will hold a memorial service on Monday for Zeus, the Police K9 who was killed as a result of a two-car accident that occurred last month. The event is open to the public and will be held at 3 p.m. at the Ulster County Fairgrounds 4H building on Libertyville Road in the Town of New Paltz.Zeus was a 7-year-old Belgian Malinwa Shepherd from the Czech Republic. He was given to the department in 2003. Zeus is credited with helping police seize drugs and $50,000 cash from a vehicle in 2009. In 2007, he tracked a man who was later convicted of forcibly raping an elderly woman, police said. In 2006 he helped police seize 150 pounds of marijuana in a joint investigation with the Town of Lloyd Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration. “The outpouring of support and condolences from the community has been fantastic,” said New Paltz Police Chief Joseph Snyder. 
 Memorial Service

 New Paltz police K9 Officer Robert Knoth is teary eyed as he is presented with a framed image of himself and his K9 partner, Zeus, at the K9's memorial service
Community mourns police dog loss               Rasheed Oluwa • Poughkeepsie Journal
More than 100 people attended the memorial service for New Paltz police dog Zeus at the Ulster County Fairgrounds in New Paltz today.
Zeus, a German shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix from the Czech Republic, was killed on July 31 after vehicles driven by Officers Robert Knoth  and Joseph Judge collided while responding to a residential burglary alarm.    
Zeus, who joined the police force in 2003, was 7 years old at the time of his death. Knoth and Judge have since been released from the hospital and are recovering from their injuries.   “He was basically a 85-pound lapdog when he was with me,” Knoth, Zeus's handler, said. “He was the best partner you could ask for. He was always happy to come to work. He had no fear. He was always the first one to walk through the door.”   Police dog representatives from Dutchess, Ulster and Orange counties along with representatives from the Albany and New York City area attended today's service. New Paltz town Supervisor Toni Hokanson and members of the town police commission were present.   New Paltz police Chief Joseph Snyder said Zeus was the first New Paltz police dog killed on duty. To date, none of the town's police officers have been killed while on duty.
“I'm just grateful and thankful that it wasn't one of our officers,” Snyder said.   Snyder said Zeus was all business when he showed up for work and was considered an integral part of the New Paltz Police Department. Zeus contributions are highlighted in some of the high-profile cases he helped to solve during his career.  
In 2007, Zeus helped to track down Anthony Jacobs after he raped an elderly female who was sleeping in her home in New Paltz. Zeus also played a role in a drug-related $50,000 seizure earlier this year and 150-pound marijuana bust in 2006.   Snyder said Judge is about four weeks away from returning to the police department, while Knoth's injuries will take more time to recover from. He said state police are close to finishing their investigation into the crash.    Snyder said the department will look into finding a replacement for Zeus in the near future.   “Right now, were just grieving over the department's loss,” Snyder said. “But we definitely want to replace Zeus. So many people in the community have stepped forward and offered to help. The biggest thing will be coming up with another (police dog) vehicle.”
**********  MORE
 
Paltz- K-9 units and representatives from over 20 police departments from Beacon to Albany gathered at the Ulster County Fairgrounds Monday afternoon to pay their respects to New Paltz K-9 Zeus who died as a result of injuries he sustained during a car accident while on patrol July 31st.  Zeus was just shy of eight years old when he died. “We’re here to celebrate his life and his service to our community,” said New Paltz Police Chief Joseph Snyder as he began the emotional memorial service. “He’s well known for his barking as the car patrolled down Main Street,” Snyder reminisced. “He has done a phenomenal job working in the community, making drug arrests, finding kids, and doing demonstrations for the community.”

Zeus, from the Czech Republic, was donated to the NPPD in 2003. Together he and his handler, Officer Robert Knoth, attended 16 weeks of patrol school and six weeks of narcotics school at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Since then, Zeus and Officer Knoth had been full time partners beginning their active patrol in 2004. Zeus was a member of the family, Knoth said. “They’re the best partners you could ever have; he was a family member,” Knoth said of his fallen comrade. He chose to use the saying “Ever loyal, ever alert” to describe his former partner and his contribution as a friend and officer.   

submitted by Jim Cortina, Dir. CPWDA