In Loving Memory of
K-9 NERO
May 3, 2005
Officer Chris Woodruff
& 1st handler, Agent Roy Ball
Roanoke Rapids Police Dept.
1040 Roanoke Ave.
Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870
252.533.2810
submitted by Jim Cortina, Dir. CPWDA
Nero remembered at memorial service
Todd Wetherington | Daily Herald Fellow members of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department console Officer Chris Woodruff, center in light shirt, at the close of Friday's memorial service for police dog Nero. Woodruff was Nero's handler.
Lance Martin/Herald Senior Staff Writer 5/16/05
Choking back tears, Roanoke Rapids Police Chief Greg Lawson explained what Nero meant to the department in the year he served. "I get a little emotional," Lawson said during a memorial service Friday for the police K9, which was hit by a car the afternoon of May 3. "Nero's pictures speak for themselves. He was loved by children and loved to do police work." That was Nero, Lawson said. "He wasn't just a dog, he was a police officer." While Nero's successor - Brando - will arrive later in the summer and looks just like Nero and has his temperament, Lawson asked, "Will Brando every really replace Nero? No. It's a special bond handlers have with their canines."
Speakers remembering the canine spoke behind a table holding an urn with Nero's remains, photos of the dog with school children and beside a patrol car, a special plaque and a floral arrangement designed as an American flag. The urn and plaque were donations from Massey and Wrenn, Clark and Hagan Funeral Homes, Inc., Lawson said, while Extra Touch Florists made the arrangement and Halifax Linen donated the cloth the memorabilia was placed on. City Narcotics Agent Roy Ball, who was Nero's first handler before he was assigned to Officer Chris Woodruff, said, "Having Nero was an honor for me." He said, "If you've never had a canine you will probably never know the bond. It's unbelievable, the camaraderie with your canine." Ball recalled when Nero tracked a little girl who had been kidnapped by her father and read a poem entitled "Guardians of the Night," a tribute to canine officers.
Jim Meyer, a former lieutenant with the department and the city's earliest canine officer, told Woodruff, "Chris, I know how you feel. I know how your family feels." He explained that other officers don't understand the bond between a handler and the police dog. "It's not an insult. It's just a simple fact of life. It requires a lot of dedication and long hours. You've got to constantly be on your toes." Meyer said what happened to Nero was something officers call prey driving. Nero was hit by a car on West Tenth Street when Woodruff was exercising him and the ball he was chasing hit his snout and bounced into the street. Reiterating an earlier statement made by Sgt. Andy Jackson, Meyer said it is no coincidence that dog is "god" spelled backwards. "A dog is no less than God's reminder of unconditional love. Your dog will stand by you when nobody else will." Meyer praised the department's efforts to continue with the canine program. "It's a totally, absolutely necessary tool to police work. I appreciate the foresight of the city of Roanoke Rapids to look into another dog."
Officer Terrence Tyler said even though Nero was a dog, his gentle nature should serve as a reminder, "To let us show compassion for each other."
Salisbury Post
Salisbury lost a veteran protector last week. Master Police Officer Mark Shue said goodbye to a devoted friend and trusted partner.
Tazzie, a Belgian Malinois that had served in the Salisbury Police Department K-9 unit for 10 years, died March 1 after suffering with cancer. He was 111/2 years old.
During a career that began in 1995 and ended when he retired last summer, Tazzie was involved in 166 captures and several million dollars in drug seizures.
"He worked his butt off," Shue said. "But he loved it."
And Tazzie wasted no time getting to work.
The last of the department's handler-owned police dogs, he was the third of Shue's canines trained for the job. Shue brought Tazzie home at eight weeks old.
"He was my constant companion from then until, well, last Wednesday," Shue said. "We definitely were closer than any of the other dogs I've had."
Shue says Tazzie had "exceptional drive and exceptional intelligence." He became certified as a police dog at nine months, an age at which the officer said most dogs haven't started training for the test.
"That's an unheard of age for a dog to pass certification," Shue said. "He just learned very fast."
He took to the work just as quickly. His first night on the job, Tazzie tracked and helped catch a suspect. It was the first in a number of apprehensions unrivaled to date by any Rowan County police dog, Shue said.
And when it came to illegal drugs, Tazzie was hard to fool. He could smell narcotics through layers upon layers of odor-masking agents like aluminum foil, pepper and air freshener.
In 2000, Shue and Tazzie were in on busting a 1,232-pound load of marijuana packed into a trailer of limes from Mexico. The drugs had a street value of over $2 million.
Shue serves as an advanced K-9 instructor and used Tazzie to help him teach even the most difficult tasks. He said K-9 handlers in Rowan and other counties joined K-9 units after seeing Tazzie at work.
Shue said Tazzie made an impression on hundreds of children through the years during school visits and other events. Tazzie loved to be petted and play with the students.
"He loved children," Shue said. And kids loved him. Shue often heard them crying out "There's Tazzie!" when he was out patrolling the community. Shue has a stack of letters and cards from children to Tazzie.
"He was a gentle dog, but when it came down to catching bad guys, he took his business seriously," Shue said. "He showed no mercy to bad guys."
Shue recalled an incident early in Tazzie's career when they responded to a disturbance and came upon what the officer called "a big, hulking" suspect fighting with police trying to subdue him.
"He was shrugging off officers," Shue said. "Tazzie tagged him on the ankle one time — Bam! — big man on the ground saying 'OK, OK, I give up.' "
For years, Tazzie served with Shue on the Salisbury Police Department's Special Response Team and accompanied him on lakes Badin and Tillery, which Shue patrols for the Stanly County Sheriff's Department.
"He loved riding in the patrol boat," Shue said. "He kept me company many a dark night out on the lake. He was good backup for me."
Salisbury Police Chief Mark Wilhelm said Tazzie "was a good dog.
"He performed very well for us for a number of years," Wilhelm said. "And I'm sure losing the dog was like losing a member of Mark's family because they worked so closely together for a number of years."
Tazzie was like family, Shue said. He thought of the dog almost like a son, and he's sure Tazzie thought of him as a father because he got him so young.
Tazzie went with Shue not just to work or the numerous states they traveled to for schools. He accompanied the family on vacations.
But Tazzie developed back problems that forced him to retire last summer. Shue chokes up as he describes the way the dog watched him leave the house for work each day after that.
Then, in late summer or early fall, Shue found out his dog had the cancer that ultimately took his life.
Driving home to eastern Rowan with Tazzie last week, Shue turned on his blue lights once more for the dog that so loved riding in the patrol car. He buried him near their home.
"He was a great partner," Shue said. "He was this man's best friend."
K-9 Aryn started his career with the Gwinnett County Police Department in 1998. His first devoted handler was Officer Rick Garner. I give all the credit to Rick for molding him into the great police officer that he was. In 2000 he was reassigned to Officer Nathan Clark. In 2002 he was assigned to his final handler, me, Cpl. Mike Waddell. In the five and a half years that he served the department he was responsible for a total of 119 arrest (patrol/narcotics). He retired from the department on January 17, 2004.
In December 2003 I had talked with our veterinarian about some minor medical issues with Aryn mostly coming from his age. And it was determined he was going to retire in April 2004. But on January 13, 2004 we were dispatched to a call in the City of Lilburn Georgia to track a double homicide suspect who had killed the beloved Bill Venable Sr and Bill Venable Jr. When K9 Officers Cpl. Scott Schunk, Cpl. Dave O'Hare and I arrived on the scene we listened to the police helicopter pilots telling us they had spotted the suspect in a heavily wooded area and started to direct us in the location.
Aryn quickly picked up the suspect's scent on the ground and started tracking to him. As Aryn went to apprehend the suspect in the pitch black of night the suspect shot at us hitting Aryn once in the leg and once in the sternum. Because I had to drop his tracking lead to fire my own weapon Aryn went back toward our patrol car where K9 Officer Don Merchant called Aryn to heel which he did obediently despite of his critical wounds. Meanwhile the suspect refused to surrender and he lost the fight and his own life. When I got to Aryn I knew I had to get him to the emergency vet quickly. He "loaded up" on his own and off to the vet we went. When I arrived at the vet Aryn underwent 3 hours of surgery. The round that hit his sternum missed his heart by a quarter of an inch.
I was able to take the wounded hero home with me two nights later. Because he was so "attached to my hip" I had to sleep downstairs with him just so he wouldn't follow me upstairs while he was recuperating. When I returned to work a week later you wouldn't believe how he acted when he saw me getting dressed for work. He would start doing his "happy dance" while whining at me. Even though his body told him he couldn't do it anymore his heart and mind never told him "no." It broke my heart knowing I was going to work without him but I know it broke his heart even more knowing he wasn't going along to take care of me.
A couple of months later I went to North Carolina to train my new K-9 partner and gave my wife and daughter permission to spoil Aryn rotten while I was gone. I never imagined they would take it to the extreme they did!!!! But of course I joined in seeing as how he adjusted to his new life style. If I walked in the house with charcoal he would start getting all excited knowing daddy was getting ready to cook him something good. I have never known a dog that has ate better (or more quantity) steak than him. He truly deserved every bite.
On January 24, 2007 I had to make the hardest decision of my life. Our vet told us that Aryn's brain was not talking to the back half of his body. I had to let him go with dignity and pride for the hero that he was. I believe Aryn enjoyed his time here on earth but he did not do it for himself. He looked out for and protected not just Rick, Mike, Scott, and Dave, but all the officers in our department as well as all the citizens of Gwinnett County.
Thank you, buddy, for saving my life. I and all my family and many, many others will truly miss you. Take care of my fellow brother Marines while you stand watch over Heaven's streets. I will one day meet you up there, and we will guard them together.
Semper Fidelis Arod!!!!!
Corporal Mike Waddell
Gwinnett County Police Department
K-9 Unit
