In continuation of my Law Enforcement experiences I will say K-9 was my life, the faith and the love my dogs gave me far exceeded anything a human partner could give, don't get me wrong there were many buddies that I would entrust watching my back and as recent pass shows will give their life to protect the citizens of Philadelphia, but the loyalty of a k-9 partner is without a doubt a sure thing. I could honestly say I never had any fear entering any situation with my k-9 by my side. As I said in my earlier blog Fritz and I worked the subways, he was 3 when we started working together and I retired him at age 12, he developed Hip Arthritis so he lived happily at home till he was 15 with my second partner Lupo.

First I'll explain the name Lupo, it is simple, Lupo is Latin for Wolf. In comparison to Fritz who was considered a hard dog, Lupo was a soft dog meaning he wasn't as aggressive as Fritz, now don't get me wrong he was there when I needed him only he wanted commands where Fritz deciphered a situation and acted on it, this was ok in some incidents by not so good in others, example lets say I was suckered punched and went down Fritz would see this action and react, where as Lupo would wait till I gave him the command to "get that sinner". Now the other toss of the coin, if I had to help someone let say an elderly lady who had fallen my holding her helping her up would set Fritz off where Lupo would sit calmly and watch. So you see each had it's benefits.

Lupo as you can see from his picture above was a proud k-9. He always sat with his chest out and a smile on his face. We worked the subways for about 4 years and the transit system finally decided to put there own Security department in the tubes which got us Philly guys out. After leaving the subway we K-9 officers finally got to do what all those weeks of training were meant to do, Patrol the streets of Philadelphia. It was funny I was in the department for approx. 12 years and I felt like a rookie. It was a whole new ballgame. It was brought up to me by a trainer that Lupo having the temperament he had would be good for Narcotics Detection, and he was right, my boy discovered and cleared tones of narcotics and drug money off the streets and Airport. He won several regional competitions against other departments.

Another function we could participate in was the Shriner's Hospital for Children.We the K-9 unit would go to Shriner's and put on a demo for the sick children. Shriner's is comparable to St Jude's, it takes care of children at no expense to the parents. What we do there is go into the hospital and wheel all the children out (as seen above )and in a picnic type atmosphere spend the day showing them what the dogs were trained for and to mingle with them letting them play with the dogs. It is a great time for the kids and I think even more for the officers.
I worked Lupo till he was 11 he was 1 when we trained together so he also had a long and good career as a Phila. Police K-9. I had to euthanize him at age 12 due to throat cancer. See you all next time