Police Officer Wouldn't Trade K9 Duke 'For the World'

At the most recent City Council , Mayor honored the retirement of an 11-year-old police dog for “faithfully, loyally, and courageously serving the city of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Police Department.”

The meeting formalized the adoption of Duke, a purebred Belgian Malinois that served in the SMPD for eight years, by his partner and handler Officer Michael Von Achen.

“He’s like my child,” Von Achen said. “I’ve had three dogs with this department and I’ve gotten attached to every one of them. I wouldn’t give him away for the world.”

Duke was part of one of six K9 teams in the department’s K9 unit, established in 1976. He was trained in obedience, agility, the detection of narcotics and explosives, evidence searches and apprehension work.

“You’re right in the middle of everything when you’re a K9 handler,” Von Achen said. “When they have big calls, they may call you at home to go in and find the guy. Everybody else is waiting on the perimeter keeping the guy contained and you’re like the quarterback, you go in and find him, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Von Achen said suspects were much less likely to fight or try to escape when they saw a dog at the scene, but when they did run, Duke immediately responded. He said there were many instances in which he was relieved to have Duke with him, one being the attempted escape of a robbery suspect.

“The guy took off running; he was a big dude, about 6 feet 4 inches tall and about 220 pounds, and I’d never have caught him if it wasn’t for Duke,” he said. “I just opened the door and went after him and Duke caught him. It’s one guy that definitely would have gotten away if I hadn’t had Duke right there on the spot.”

Duke was born and trained in Holland, and responds to Dutch commands. The police department obtained him from Adlerhorst International, a police service dog academy that supplies dogs to numerous police departments.

Von Achen said police dogs are trained by private companies and sold after being graded on an exam and becoming certified. Then, for an additional five weeks, they attend a school that prepares them for the specialized work each police department requires.

Von Achen said the department looks for brave, hardworking and energetic dogs with no obvious medical problems.

He said so far, none of his dogs have had any trouble adapting from the life of the K9 unit to being a house pet.

“They’ve all been good, tough police dogs and good house dogs, well-balanced, and easy to switch on and off,” he said.

Bloom presented Duke with a certificate, a toy and parting words marking his transition into a new life.

“K9 Duke was instrumental in the successful apprehension and arrest of violent criminals involved in robberies, burglaries and assaults, the detection of narcotics, and fearlessly protecting the safety of his fellow officers,” he said. “His service days now over, Duke’s most enduring quality will always be remembered as his complete devotion to and trust in his best friend and handler Officer Michael Von Achen.”

Would you like to nominate a potential Community Hero? E-mail Kurt.Orzeck@patch.com.