LA HABRA : Role Over for Veteran Police Dog

Dido Von Der Silberwiese, a seven-year veteran of the La Habra Police Department, is not as quick as he was when he first joined the force. His hair has specks of gray in it and the rigors of his work seem to take a greater toll on his muscles than when he was a youth.

So, on Sunday, Dido, the county’s oldest police dog, will retire.

His handler says the 10-year-old German shepherd--equivalent to 70-plus years for a human--will do the things many cops do when they hang up their badges: sit around the house, go for leisurely walks and drives with his family and pick up a new hobby.

“He’s expressed a real desire to go hunting,” chuckled Officer Dave Kirkendall, Dido’s handler and the man whom the dog will continue to live with in retirement.

Although Dido didn’t say much at a press conference in his honor Friday, Kirkendall said his partner is “going to miss (police work) an awful lot.”

Dido--who arrived here from Dulmen, West Germany, in 1983 and is named after his dog parents, Quax Von Bubenlachring and Connie Von Der Silberwiese--has had a distinguished career with the department, racking up some impressive numbers. The black-and-brown, 76-pound dog has helped apprehend 131 criminals, conducted 188 building searches, participated in 108 assorted searches and car stops, and aided in 38 officer-safety situations.

But the most important statistic, one that is not recorded, is the number of times he has saved officers from injury.

“He’s the handler’s first line of defense,” said La Habra Police Sgt. Mike Moore, who helped train Dido. “The dogs are used more frequently for mere presence and intimidation and searching than they are for biting.” In fact, he said, Dido was forced to bite fewer than 10 suspects in his career.

The affectionate animal, who loves dog “cookies” and a gentle stroke of his coat, has been a symbol of longevity in a career where many of his canine counterparts normally retire at about age 7.

“Probably the best characteristic of this dog is his survivability--dogs are not expected to last this long in this type of service,” said Moore, who added that Dido has rarely had to take a day off.

Because of his age, Dido’s status has been day-to-day for the last 18 months, Moore said. The department elected to retire Dido on Sunday because Kirkendall is also leaving to become a deputy with Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

La Habra has two other police dogs and is looking for a way to fund Dido’s replacement.

It will cost the department between $10,000 and $11,000, police spokeswoman Cindy Knapp said. “The dog we are looking for to be our next canine will have a dual purpose, with a drug-sniffing ability.”

Although Dido was accomplished at following human scent, he was never trained to sniff out narcotics. “But I tell you, if anybody ever lost a truckload of dog biscuits, he’d sure find it,” Kirkendall said.