Police Dog Dies the Day Before His Duty Began

Barely a month after the death of a beloved Santa Ana police dog prompted an outpouring of public support and sympathy, another canine crime stopper has been destroyed because of medical necessity, authorities said Friday.

This time, the loss was felt in Newport Beach, where the newest member of that city’s police canine unit, Boris von Ratsteinfels, was destroyed after suffering an intestinal injury that probably was caused by the stress of training, said Officer Bob Oakley, a police spokesman.

Boris’ death last Saturday came just weeks after that of Conrad von Biskirchen, another German shepherd who, in five years on the Santa Ana force, had taken part in more than 100 arrests.

But 3-year-old Boris von Ratsteinfels, whose Teutonic name stemmed from a whelp-hood spent in the kennels of Germany, never had the chance to serve. He died a day before he was to begin his patrols with Officer Gary Milius, an 11-year Newport Beach police veteran who was beginning his first assignment as a dog handler.

“We had just finished training, and the next day he dies on me,” said Milius, 34.

Oakley said police had delayed announcing Boris’ death to give Milius “some time to adjust” to the loss.

Boris, despite his untimely death, had become part of the Milius family during his short sojourn in Orange County. Since Dec. 15, Boris had lived with Milius in his Huntington Beach home, becoming a special friend of the officer’s 3-year-old son, Joshua.

“He loved him,” Milius said. “He played with him all the time.”

The last four weeks of Boris’ life had been spent in training at a Riverside kennel. There, Boris and Milius would spend each day learning the essentials of canine police work.

Police dogs such as Boris are frequently used to track suspects, Milius said.

The officer said that getting Boris to attack was easy. Training him to restrain himself when dealing with a passive suspect was another matter, though.

“We worked on obedience every day,” Milius said. “The dog has to obey you and only you, even if it means stopping him from doing something he really wants to do, like attack someone.

“We want the dog to be more than a biting machine,” Milius said.

In an official statement, the Newport Beach Police Department said that “Boris’ loss was immediately felt by the department, where his two German shepherd predecessors have established a track record of reliability, safety and excellence. The Police Department intends to replace Boris as soon as possible once the funds are located to pay the costs of a new dog.”

Oakley said the dog, which cost the department $4,500, may have been injured while in training, but police were not holding the kennel or anyone else responsible.

“When a dog is in a training environment, it’s sort of a stressful situation,” Oakley said. “I don’t think it could have been prevented. Nobody had a clue that this would happen.”