Canine
KIlo
Partner: Ptl. David Dewey,
Colchester Police Department
When I was 8, I knew that I
wanted a K-9. That dream was realized in 1998 at Winooski PD when K-9 Kilo
was delivered to our front doorstep, a donated dog whose mission in life was
going to be to save me from bad guys (and myself), track down bad guys, bite
bad guys, and find bad guys' drugs. He was a little 6 week old pup, with
big feet, and huge ears. Winooski businesses provided the funds to begin.
Monday night Kilo died
during surgery from complications of a really bad infection. My friend (Dr.
Howard) and his staff did all that they could. I was with him. I will miss
him.
Kilo has been my best
friend, my partner, our family member, a co-worker, and an all around great
dog. He served me (us) well up to his last week. He helped me through some
rough times, tracked down some really bad dudes, found some drugs, helped
the Po-Po snag some drug money, located a few runaways, and saved my ass
more times than I can count.
Kilo was the star of the
show at dozens of demos at schools, colleges, Boy Scout meetings, Special
Olympic events, daycares, public events and camps, and hundreds of people
had the opportunity to see him work, see him bite one our many chew toys
(you know who you are, especially Akerlind, Ziter, and Lamoureux)), scratch
some cars (thanks Fish and Soons), find some drugs, and wag his huge tail
and carry the bite sleeve around like a little princess, eventually jumping
in the cruiser with the bite sleeve that doesn't fit through the window.
Many of you had the
opportunity to feed him, of course just dog food (Diana, Pat, Gail, Squaw),
and if you didn't he would stalk you until you caved in (Barton, Chief).
Sometimes he would come home fat, but always happy.
Frisbee throwing will never
be the same. I will probably continue to find little pieces of frisbee (and
long black dog fur) for many years to come, at home and at Colchester PD.
Thank you all for your help
during these past years. Your help, intentional or not, helped make Kilo
the dog that he was and made the K-9 program here what it has become.
I’ll never forget the little
puppy squeals when he was excited, the chasing the flashlight, the shredding
of boxes, the eerie sound of him upon entry into a building, and the going
nuts on the floor for no apparent reason except that he still heard
McCullagh’s voice in his head. My children will have to learn to clean up
after dinner a little better without Kilo around.
Check out our website (www.vtpca)
for some cool pictures of Kilo.
We will all miss him.
Dave
