Shelton Police Department
Chief of Police Joel W. Hurliman
******PRESS RELEASE******
DATE: July 11, 2007
By: Detective Sergeant Kevin Ahern
Police Announce the Passing of Retired K-9
Chief Joel W. Hurliman announces the passing of retired
Shelton Police K-9 Kaiser, beloved partner of Officer Cathi Schneider,
who passed away on Sunday, July 1, peacefully with his family by his
side.
Canine Officer Kaiser entered the Connecticut State Police Canine Academy on March 3, 1997, along with his partner/handler Officer Cathi Schneider. Kaiser was adopted from a family in Branford but soon became a regular member of the Schneider household. Schneider, along with her two sons, Justin and Joshua, helped Kaiser adapt to their normal routine in a matter of hours.
While in the academy Kaiser soon learned tracking, obedience and patrol technique and graduated with a "Top Dog Honor" in the obstacles class. Kaiser retired from the force in April 205 and lived at the Schneider home.
In June of 1997 Officer Schneider and K-9 Kaiser began hitting the streets and the sixteen weeks of intensive training proved to payoff when Kaiser located a missing teenager within 15 minutes of her disappearance. Both Schneider and Kaiser were given a commendation for their efforts. During this eight years of working with the Shelton Police Department, Kaiser located numerous missing persons, both young and old. He was instrumental in locating dozens of suspects from burglaries. Kaiser was even called to testify in one of those cases, but was called off when Schneider found out through the court that the suspect had changed his mind and was going to plead guilty rather than have the canine and his handler come to testify. He was also instrumental in locating lost and missing items. He once ran a track to attempt to locate a missing chainsaw that had been stolen from a home in Shelton. The chainsaw was located in the woods for well over a week in a wooded area off of Nells Rock Road. He located the chainsaw, still in it's case, under a large pile of brush.
Kaiser was instrumental in solving a long running vandalism in a Shelton neighborhood. The canine unit was called upon after a home had been vandalized for the third time. This time the suspect had thrown a large rock through the front picture window during the night. The vandalism had occurred 12 hours before the unit was called on. Kaiser was given the rock the suspect used to "scent" off of and he began to track the suspect, locating him within 100 yards of the crime scene. Kaiser identified the suspect and the person was arrested and convicted.
Kaiser not only worked for the citizens of Shelton, but also assisted the neighboring Valley towns. Together Kaiser and Schneider would handle calls when Seymour and Ansonia's canine units were not available. They also worked in Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford, Cheshire, Newtown and Hartford, answer the call for canine assistance. Along with the numerous police calls that Kaiser was called for, there was also a great demand for canine demonstrations. Kaiser and Schneider worked all the D.A.R.E. graduations in the town of Shelton, along with performing dual demonstrations with Ansonia. They gave numerous talks for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts along with Senior Citizen facilities in the Valley. Everyone knew who Kaiser was and the children loved him. They would give a talk for the children and occasionally have a child hide in a closet or behind a bookcase and then have Kaiser find them.
Kaiser was not only a partner to Officer Schneider, but also her very best friend. He never complained on her choice of lunch spots and was always agreeable to do whatever she wanted to do, especially to train. Kaiser was in excellent shape when he was working and never tired of tracking a suspect or missing person and was always ready to go no matter the hour or the weather.
The department has not had a canine patrol officer since Kaiser's retirement in 2005, but the department is looking to add a new dog to the force this budget year.
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