One night a few years ago, a man jumped off a bridge and into freezing cold water to avoid the police, paralyzing himself from the impact.  While looking for him, the officers were glad they had York around. The man would have frozen to death if not for the police dog's ability to track him down with his keen sense of smell. The officers were able to get the man to a hospital for treatment. Doctors later told police that the man probably would have frozen to death if York hadn't found him lying in the tall grass, according to his partner and handler, Officer Jeff Bragg.

York died Saturday just a few days before his 10th birthday. He was one of the department's first canine officers on the force after the program was revived in 2004.  "I think everyone here feels a little loss," said Officer Jeff Bragg, speaking from his desk at the police department. After York's retirement in 2009, Bragg continued caring for the Dutch shepherd. They had worked together since York was two years old, when Bragg personally trained him at a canine police academy in North Carolina. "Most handlers keep their dogs because that's not a bond you let go," he said.

York retired after 5 1/2 years on the force when budget cuts at the department and the rigors of the job began to affect him. According to Bragg, York responded to 6,433 calls, took 8 1/2 pounds of drugs off the streets and captured 47 suspects. His work resulted in 213 misdemeanor charges and 84 felony charges. Despite all of his hard work, York never asked for much in return besides the occasional round of fetch and a little love, Bragg said. In his time with York, Bragg said he learned a lot about loving life and loving what you do. "All I'd say is, 'You ready to catch bad guys?' and he'd be doing circles at the door," Bragg said. York succumbed to cancer, which Bragg said wasn't found until just hours before he died. A tumor in York's spleen ruptured, causing internal bleeding. Bragg ultimately decided that the best thing to do for York would be to let him go.

Bragg said that York solved all kinds of cases that probably wouldn't have been solved without him. In his first year on the job, York was able to track a car thief for about half a mile to Hill 57 and take him down when he tried to get away. Police later found that the man had nearly $2 million in warrants, Bragg said. Yet, despite his skills in taking down bad guys, York also was gentle enough to visit schools and let kids pat him on the head. "He was the most happy-go-lucky dog you'd ever meet," Bragg said. But he was a reliable one, too, as York's former colleagues would be quick to attest. "They felt better when York showed up to back them on calls," Bragg said.
submitted by Jim Cortina, Dir. CPWDA