Clearwater Canine Service Dogs Honored at Ceremony

Dozens of police officers and their families, plus local citizens and animal lovers gathered at in Palm Harbor on Tuesday to honor three former members of the area’s canine service units. 

The three officers were laid to rest in a special section of the Curlew Road cemetery called the Garden of Heroes, where the remains of 46 former canine law enforcement officers are buried. 

The ceremony, the sixth such memorial at Curlew Hills, was the idea of President and CEO Keenan Knopke, who covers the burial expenses for all the canine service dogs, regardless of how or when they passed. 

“We always talk about us, but we never talk about the service that these dogs do every day,” Knopke said prior to the ceremony. “They protect us, they find people, they catch bad people, and they kind of get shuffled to the side as they retire.” 

“In many cases, they’re the ones who have kept the officer alive. That’s the importance of this ceremony, to remember them for what they did.”

Officers from the canine units of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and the Clearwater Police Department were on hand to offer recollections of the loyal partners they have lost, as well as to inform people what integral parts of their daily lives these dogs become. 

“Even if you made a conscious effort not to bond with the dog, it’s impossible,“ Clearwater Police sargeant and canine unit commander Jimmy Hall said. “You’re 40 hours a week working with them and 24/7 at home, so it’s constant.” 

Hall, who is on his fourth canine service dog and was there to honor his previous partner, Mako, who passed away last year, said it takes a special person and a lifestyle adjustment to be a canine officer. 

"The dog is the center of my universe,” he said. 

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Sgt. Clark Wagner, whose former partner, Cuda, was one of the first canines buried in the Garden of Heroes, expressed gratitude for Knopke and Curlew Hills for providing area forces with this final resting place. 

“Keenan has been great to us here. It started off with us looking for information… for a memorial… at our kennel facility, and he said we’re going to do a Garden of Heroes and we would love to provide this service.” 

Wagner acknowledges the presence of such a facility, one of the few of its kind in the state, has made parting with fallen canine easier on their handlers. 

“We have some officers who have (kept the remains) at their homes for a long time. When they realize there is a service like this, it’s easier to let go knowing they’re coming to a good place. It’s very reassuring for the handlers and their families.” 

According to the Clearwater Police Department, in 2010 the canine unit deployed their dogs a total of 514 times. These deployments included 223 tracks, 131 area searches, 54 building searches and 9 evidence searches.  

As a result the canine teams made 83 arrests with a total of 159 criminal charges. 

This kind of dedication to the job, coupled with the fact that there are no other places around that are providing this kind of service, makes what Curlew Hills is doing even more special, Hall said.

“There’s a lack of this… in this geographical area," Hall said. "This is forever remembrance. That’s what makes this so important.”