CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SUNNYVALE : Police Department ‘Fires’ a Bad Dog

After 2 1/2 years on the job and $6,000 in training, Marko the police dog was deemed a flop and “fired” from the Sunnyvale Public Safety Department, a police spokesman said. “It’s hard to say why the dog wasn’t a good police dog,” Capt. Steve Pigott said. “His performance just was not very productive.” Marko, a German shepherd who joined the force in January, 1987, was replaced by a young upstart named Gauner. Three hours into his first job, Gauner made his first “find”--a suspect in hiding. Since then, he has detected two other suspects trying to hide from officers, Pigott said. In his more than than two years on the force, Marko made only “four or five finds,” the captain said. Although Marko is out of police work, his life hasn’t gone to the dogs. He will live out his retirement at the home of his officer-handler, Pigott said.