"A Tribute to Police Service Dogs" continued...

"In Remembrance of K9 Rambo"

Funeral for a Friend
by
Charlie Fingerhut

Man and dog have always had a special and priviledged relationship. Man and Police dog share even a more intimate and interdependent quality in which the lives of each other are inexorably intertwined. More often than not, this goes unnoticed by the general public (as does much good police work); it seems that the only times that one takes note of this special quality is when tragedy or heroism occurs.

On June 5, 1998, a squadron of police personnel and Solo (nicknamed "Rambo,") a four-year-old police dog, surrounded a location containing a suspect who had barricaded himself into an apartment.  According to accounts obtained later, Solo was sent into investigate the situation; however, unbeknownst to all involved, the perpetrator had rigged up a rather elaborate detection system consisting of interlocking mirrors which allowed him a clear view of many of the entrance corridors.

When he detected that Solo was approaching, he emerged from his location and fired two shots, striking Solo in the chest and killing him instantly. In sacrificing his life, Solo helped to apprehend the perpetrator and further helped to insure that no one else suffered serious injury.

On June 10, 1998 at the Police Academy in Freehold, New Jersey, Solo was given what amounted to be a state funeral befitting any police officer killed in the line of duty.

Solo's owner/handler (Officer Eckel) and K-9 Police units (officers and dogs) from surrounding locales and from regions as far away as Suffern, New York and perhaps even further attended this funeral in full-dress attire.  It was a ceremony virtually indistinguishable from those conducted form human officers killed in the line of duty. A priest was in attendance and excerpts from the book of Genesis were read aloud to a standing room only gathering which brought many of us to the point of tears.