K-9 Diesel

K9 Diesel

The Webster Police Department’s first K9 was a German Shepherd named K9 Dfienbaker (Dee) and was retired in 2000. After a long break, the K9 program was reinstated under Chief Bent in 2007.

In mid July a Dutch Shepherd named “Diesel,” arrived and became the second police dog in department history. Both Officer Suss and K9 Diesel certified with the United States Police Canine Association as a police tracking dog team. In just a few months, Diesel reminded the WPD how useful a K9 can be to its members.

On October 26, 2007 Diesel successfully tracked and located a key piece of evidence which led to the arrests of three individuals for multiple home burglaries. Thousands of dollars of property was also recovered and returned to the victims.

On December 27, 2007 Diesel assisted the neighboring Town of Oxford in tracking an intoxicated teenager who fled his residence after a domestic dispute. The teen passed out in the woods wearing only a t-shirt and no shoes. He subsequently lost consciousness amid the snow in single digit temperature and was in the beginning stages of hypothermia. Diesel located the teen and was later credited with saving his life.

January 5, 2008 Diesel was replaced by K9 Red. Unfortunately Diesel did not pass prescreening suitability tests for the Boston K9 Academy. More specifically Diesel had a fear of slippery and shiny floors which it couldn’t be guaranteed he would overcome. Faced with a tough decision, especially since Diesel had good success, the decision was made to search for another K9.