EAST HAVEN — If former East Haven Police Department K-9 Bear was told to track someone, he was going to find them, said former handler and police officer Joseph Peterson.
Bear, a German shepherd bought by the department in 2001 at 14 months old from the Czech Republic, worked from 2001 to 2007, winning competitions, medals and hearts along the way.
Peterson remembers entering the New York Municipal Police Work Dog Academy for a six-month long training with the pup in 2001.
“We were down there when they hit the trade centers. We were training in the Bronx, New York, so my dog Bear was quite sentimental to me right from the get-go,” Peterson said Thursday.
Even in training, it was clear to Peterson that his furry partner was going to be special. The retired East Haven officer said Bear had an amazing nose and nobody could hide from him, even while he was still in training.
“He was just one in a million,” Peterson said.
Halfway through the six-month training, the pair entered a tracking competition.
Bear would be completing what is known as a three-legged track. Each leg was a quarter of a mile and had a piece of evidence Bear had to find before turning to the next leg, Peterson said. The canine found all the evidence and earned 169 out of 170 points, earning him first place out of 40 competing dogs.
After graduating in December 2001, Bear got right to work. In one night alone, Bear and Peterson completed three successful tracks, the New Haven Register reported at the time.
In one of these cases, the crime-fighting duo helped New Haven police track five people who allegedly ran from a stolen car after crashing into several parked vehicles. Bear sniffed the car and then tracked a half-mile path to where the men were hiding in bushes.
Hours later, police found another stolen car and let Bear sniff the driver’s seat. The canine led police to the second floor of an apartment building, to various windows throughout the building, then to a third floor stairwell where the suspect was.
The same night, Bear helped North Branford Police track his first aggressive suspect, who had multiple warrants out for his arrest, on a 140-foot path in the woods. The suspect did not stay still as commanded and grew aggressive, so Bear did as he was trained: he bit into the person’s thigh until they were handcuffed.
Bear also helped find missing persons, including those who wanted to harm themselves.
Peterson said the pair was called in during a rainstorm, an hour after a woman was reported missing, and Bear still found her with the help of a pillow.
“I put Bear on the scent and he tracked her through the center of town, through an apartment complex and he cut a corner around the building, then a dumpster,” Peterson said. “The next thing I knew, I heard a scream and like when you catch a fish, the line goes tight. I knew he was biting somebody, so I screamed ‘no.’”
Bear had caught the woman by the leg. She had a knife next to her, Peterson said. He pulled Bear off her and noticed she had written “DNR” (do not resuscitate) on her chest three times in marker, he said. The woman had to go to the hospital due to Bear’s bite from her.
“I walked over to the mother and said I’m sorry,” Peterson said. “I explained to her, I couldn’t see what she did towards the dog. She had a knife in her hands. The mother hugged me and said ‘I don’t care the dog bit her, my daughter is alive.’”
Bear continued helping the East Haven Police Department, the state police, other local departments and even the FBI with cases until his retirement in 2007.
Not all of those cases were happy or safe, Peterson said. Some even resulted in Bear being injured.
Peterson remembered driving by the Krauszer’s convenience store on Foxon Road shortly before 2 am with Bear one day when he noticed a vehicle parked and running. After running the plates and learning they should be on a different vehicle, Peterson approached the car. The suspect, who also had multiple outstanding warrants for his arrest, did not comply with Peterson’s requests, he said.
Peterson told the suspect he was going to search him and found a cellphone and a bag containing 16 small bags of crack cocaine, the Register reported in 2005. As soon as Peterson removed the items, the suspect allegedly hit Peterson’s face with his elbow, then fled on foot into some woods behind the store. Peterson called for backup, and then he and Bear took chase.
When Peterson found Bear, he was being punched and kicked in the face, head and body. Bear was ultimately OK and only suffered from a bloody nose, Peterson said.
On another case, Bear was trying to track a gun at a construction site and fell into a concrete footing, where he landed on a rebar, Peterson said. Bear was brought to an animal hospital for treatment, but he still managed to recover the gun, which was found in the dirt where he first searched, his handler said.
The K-9’s keen sense of smell led the duo to receive letters of recognition from the East Haven Police Department and the department’s Dedicated Service Medal. The pair was recognized by the United States Police Canine Association in 2004 for tracking and apprehension and in 2003 got the patrol dog award for outstanding performance in the detection and prevention of crime.
When he wasn’t busy fighting crime, Bear spent time visiting schools and children. Peterson described him as friendly and beyond playful.
Bear ultimately retired in 2007 due to medical issues. He was diagnosed with a bowel overgrowth and a gastrointestinal virus that caused him to hemorrhage.
The dog lived with Peterson and his family until his death in 2012.
“He was my best friend,” Peterson said. “He was my child. He was with me 24/7.”
Following Bear’s death, Peterson tried to get the dog a spot on the memorial honoring three K-9s buried outside of the police station. In 2019, I have approached the town’s new administration and worked to get a monument to all of the department’s dogs created.
Three years later, a memorial stone has been unveiled by the department, set to be placed in late spring.
Peterson said he wanted to know that once he died, Bear would still be remembered. To this day, Peterson’s love for his partner turned family member remains strong.
“Bear is home with me. He was cremated. Bear’s being buried with me. That’s how much I love my dog. That’s how much I miss my dog,” Peterson said. “I am grateful, I’m humbled, I’m excited that he will finally get the recognition he deserves, that he will always be remembered long after I’m gone.”