My colleague Rasheed Oluwa covered the memorial service Monday for New Paltz police dog Zeus, who was killed July 31 when vehicles driven by his partner Officer Robert Knoth and Officer Joseph Judge collided.
They were responding to a residential burglary alarm.
Zeus, 7, was a German shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix from the Czech Republic.
"He was basically an 85-pound lapdog when he was with me," Knoth, Zeus' handler, said Monday. "He was the best partner you could ask for. He was always happy to come to work. He had no fear. He was always the first one to walk through the door."
The Poughkeepsie Journal went to the dogs — and cats and at least one rabbit — today. Well, at least the front page of the Mid-Hudson section did.
And as one of my colleagues noted, neither of the stories was mine.
The first story is by Christine Pizzuti and is about an Ulster County Sheriff's Office K-9 who is retiring after nine years of service.
Here's a picture of the retiree with UndersheriffFrankFaluotico.
The second story is by RasheedOluwa and is about the blessing of the animals at Hyde Park United Methodist Church. This is the third year the church has held the ceremony to commemorate the death of St. Francis of Assisi.
There is a nice photo gallery by Karl Rabe, too. Be sure and check them out.
Yesterday, I got to do a story that was published today about the canine tent at the Dutchess County Fair. There were diving dogs, flying disk-catching dogs and dogs running agility courses.
It's the seventh year in a row that the fair has had an exhibition devoted to companion animals — the only exhibit at the fair. The rest are cows, horse, goats, chickens and such — domesticated animals, sure, but not considered pets.
The canine tent goes from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day of the fair, through Sunday.
Here's a video clip (Note to Gannett Corporate: I took the video with my cell phone camera) of Erich Steffensen of Millbrook, N.Y., working with his dog Java, a 3-year-old female border collie.
The dock diving demonstration was fun as well. The fair put a 45-foot-long pool next to the canine tent and twice a day dogs leaped into the water after their favorite toys.
And, of course, you had to watch out for the inevitable consequence of a dog in water. Our finest
Also at the fair, everyday except Sunday, will be police K-9 demonstrations. Besides a program at 1:30 in the canine tent, the K-9 officers will have a demonstration tonight and Friday between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. and at noon Saturday at Livestock Hill.
I spoke with Lt. Charles Hicks of the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office. His partner, Timber, is an accelerant detection canine.
These demonstrations show a little bit of what the patrol dogs can do, he said. They will be showing obedience and agility training, apprehending a suspect and a car stop like on the street.
Hicks said they will also be doing a little bit of audience participation, where they bring a kid up to help out.
"It helps them realize that these dogs can be petted," he said.
At the fair Wednesday were K-9 teams from the sheriff's office, the towns of Newburgh and Poughkeepsie and Mt. Vernon.
Check them out if you haven't seen them in action. These guys and their canine partners are fantastic.
Rescue dogs
The booths in the canine tent were staffed by a few of commercial outfits, like Ledgewood Kennels who have taken such good care of Kate in the past, and some nonprofit rescue groups.
Canine tent organizer Dale Mountain said the nonprofits are not charged for space at the fair. They are provided a place to give information to the public about the plight of dog overpopulation.
I spoke with Campbell Muir of Saugerties, N.Y., who runs the Labrador Retriever Rescue of the Hudson Valley.
He said they are at the fair to do some fund raising and to make the public aware of lab rescues.
"A lot of people don't realize that labs are abandoned," Muir said. "Kids go back to school and the mother and father will get rid of the dog. Or they will get a dog for the kids for the summer and then get rid of it."
About Woyton: He's a Poughkeepsie Journal reporter and a dog owner, though not necessarily in that order.
About Kate: She was named after Kate Hepburn. It's the cheekbones. Kate is a (best guess) 14-year-old (even more of a guess) boxer/shepherd mix, who is (absolute certainty!) a sweetheart and the best dog in the whole wide world.
