POLICE DOGS SERVE WELL

In the last month-and-a-half, our city, our police department and two K-9
handlers have had tragedy strike their lives. On May 9, K-9 Starko, a
Belgian Malinois who had reached the ripe old age of 14, was put to sleep
by his longtime handler, Officer Rick Dietz. Starko had lost quality of
life as a result of complications of a tumor and unfortunately had to be
put down. Starko had served our city for many years and was a very fine
police dog. Starko did all things well, but his specialty was finding
things. Whenever something was hidden or dropped during a criminal's flight
to freedom, we called Starko out and it was found within a short time.
Starko was a multipurpose dog who had numerous apprehensions and drug
finds. I had the privilege of working with him and training with him on
numerous occasions. Starko was retired in 1997, with honor and distinction.
He was greatly missed after he retired.

On June 13, K-9 handler Terence Garrison unexpectedly had to put his
longtime partner, K-9 Tasja, to sleep because of complications from kidney
failure. Tasja was perhaps our finest K-9. She was a ball of fire and, for
all practical purposes, probably nuclear powered. She never gave up or gave
less than 100 percent on anything she was called to do. She had in excess
of 80 apprehensions and nearly a half-million dollars in drug seizures. She
was one fine dog.

Not being chauvinistic, Tasja was a female Belgian Malinois who I thought
at times had more testosterone than most male dogs that I had ever seen.
She was fearless and unstoppable. She lived for police work and, even
several days before she died, she found a drug cache and caught a bad guy.
She will be nearly impossible to replace. Her record will always stand as a
testament to her work.

Please join with me in remembering these two unsung heroes and their
handlers. They gave their all to protect you and yours. Starko and Tasja
worked for a kind word, a pat on the head, some dog food and lots of love
and affection from their handlers. A cheaper deal the city could not have
made. May God bless their souls.

DARYL E. DELAGRANGE

Jamestown

The writer is a master police officer III with the High Point Police
Department.