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YPD police dog retiring
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
There will be no gold watch for the latest retiree from the city police department.
But perhaps there will be a gold bone.
Of course, that retiree probably will not know or care once his last day on the force rolls around. His name is Helo, and he is a Belgian Malinois, and he will be retiring after eight years on the job after the end of this month.
The dog, whose handler is Patrolman Josh Kelly, will be replaced by Gustav, or “Goose,” as he is called informally, a 2-year-old German shepherd. Goose is training with Kelly now and Helo will be riding with his partner until his retirement date.
Kelly said Helo still is in good health, but he is now 12 years old and it is time for Helo to relax a bit.
“His drive is still very strong but he has put in a long service life,” Kelly said. “I don’t want him to get hurt when he gets older.” Helo lives with Kelly and his family and Goose – who also has moved in. Kelly said both dogs get along fine, and more importantly, they get along well with his children.
As he begins his training with Gustav, Kelly said he can tell the difference in the breeds of dogs for the work they do.
“Shepherds are a little more methodical,” Kelly said. “They’re a different dog.”
Kelly ran Gustav through some paces recently at the department’s police-dog training center on Meridian Road in Cornersburg. Giving commands in Czech, Kelly had the dog search and sniff along slots in a wall for drugs, and when he found the drugs, the dog would sit. For his reward, a PVC pipe was tossed through the hole Gustav alerted on, and he and Kelly would then play with the pipe.
Kelly said during training drugs are placed in the pipe so the dog always will associate the aroma of drugs with his toy.
Helo has had a good career, catching 11 people during searches at crime scenes and also helping to seize in excess of $300,000 worth of drugs. One of his best cases was a traffic stop where Helo found $56,000 worth of drugs in a spare tire.
“He’s been very exceptional,” Kelly said.
Kelly said he is sure when he begins working regularly with Gustav, it will be strange until he can get used to his new partner. But he said he would not trade his time for Helo for anything. Kelly said he loves working with police dogs because of his love of animals, and Helo is one of the best, he said.
“He’s just an awesome, awesome canine,” Kelly said. “He is outstanding on the road. I am very fortunate to work with him.”