From the Grapevine Courier ~ Friday, July 7, 2006

Police Remember K-9 Darby

Veteran Dog 'More Than a Partner' Staff Report

The Grapevine Police Department honored one of its own who died recently.

He was Darby, an 8-year-old German shepherd who had served with the department for 5 1/2 years.

On June 22, Darby was left with a boarding facility at a veterinary clinic in Corinth so that his handler, Grapevine Police Officer Brian Hintz, could go on vacation. But Darby escaped from the kennel and jumped a 6-foot fence, according to GPD.

Darby then ran to the Hintz home, which is about 1 mile from the clinic, with a veterinary clinic employee following him on a motorcycle. The dog made it to the Hintz house, and Hintz, who was not far away at the time, was called and returned immediately.

But Darby suffered from overexertion and heat stress and was taken to the veterinary clinic. Darby died a short time later. An autopsy will be conducted, according to Grapevine Police.

On June 28, the Grapevine Police Department had a memorial service for Darby and honored him by placing a dedication marker by a tree in the Grapevine Botanical Gardens.

Ironically, Darby was near the end of his career as a police dog.

The Grapevine K-9 Unit now has only one, police dog, a German shepherd named Hero, who was purchased a few months ago. Hero replaced another dog who retired from the unit. Officer Danny Macchio is Hero's handler.

The Grapevine Police Department now must get a second dog, said Lt. Jim Van Duzee, who oversees the K-9s.

"This is the first time we have lost a dog," Van Duzee said. "We have had other dogs retire."

Van Duzee said it costs about $10,000 to buy one of the police dogs, which are bred in Europe and then shipped to kennels in the United States. He said the breeding standards for police dogs are higher in Europe than in the United States.

Federal law requires a police dog handler to receive 3 1/2 hours of overtime per week to care for the dog, which includes bathing and brushing the dog, checkups and more.

The dogs are an asset to a police department because they can do things no human can do. Grapevine uses the dogs for finding narcotics and for tracking and apprehending fugitives. A dog acquired at about 2 -years-old can do this work for about six to eight years.

The Grapevine Police K-9 Unit is a volunteer unit, and an officer is selected from a pool of applicants.

Van Duzee said the K-9 Unit is very specialized with several months of training required for an officer to become a dog handler.

Darby was a sable-colored German shepherd who joined the Grapevine Police Depart-ment on Jan. 26, 2001.

Van Duzee said the dog handler gets attached to his partner dog because the dog lives with the officer's family. He said Hintz was Darby's partner for five years.

"You would think someone in his family had passed away," Van Duzee said. "He took it pretty hard."

"He was more than my partner," Hintz said.

This was the third K-9 partner that Hintz has had. The previ-ous two partners were retired and later died of natural causes.

Macchio said Darby was an outstanding police dog who was very good at tracking people by smell. But he said the bond that developed with Hintz was the most special thing about Darby.

"He was, in reality, a true partner and a true friend to Brian Hintz," Macchio said.

Several friends of Hintz spoke during Darby's memorial.

"While some may see a canine as just an animal, we in this profession see them as partners," said Grapevine Police Chief Eddie Salame. "If you are a pet person, then no words are needed. If you aren't, no amount of words will explain."

From the Fort Worth Star Telegram ~ Thursday, June 29, 2006

"Darby"

Grapevine Police Department K-9 Unit

Service Dates: 01/26/2001 to 06/22/2006

STAR-TELEGRAM/RAUL VASQUEZ

Grapevine police K-9 officer Brian Hintz has a quiet moment while looking at the memorial for his K-9 partner, Darby, during services Wednesday (06/28/2006) at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens. Darby, an 8-year-old German shepherd, died last week after escaping from a Corinth kennel and animal hospital in an apparent attempt to return to his handler. Standing nearby is Grapevine K-9 officer Daniel Macchio.