Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Largo loses a crime fighter

Bear, a police dog, collared nearly 80 burglars in his five-year career.

By SHEELA RAMAN
Published March 16, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times file photo: Lara Cerri] Officer Scott Brown says Bear hated motorcycles.

LARGO - To Officer Scott Brown, Bear was more than just a keen German shepherd who could smoke out creeping burglars.

Bear was a constant on-the-beat companion who howled at motorcycles or cars that resembled motorcycles at night because they had only one headlight.

"Whenever I see a motorcycle from now on I'll think of him," Brown said Thursday. "For some reason he just hated them."

And he was a beloved member of the family who thrilled Brown's 14-year-old daughter with games and tricks.

Bear, who helped Largo police catch about 80 burglars in his five-year career, was euthanized Wednesday after being diagnosed with cancer of the liver and spleen, which had caused extensive bleeding in his stomach. The news was unexpected. Until two weeks ago, Bear, who was approaching the age of 8, seemed fine. He even worked his shift on Tuesday, Brown said. His only symptoms had been a lack of appetite and slight sluggishness.

Largo police said they will miss Bear's spirited crime fighting.

On his first day on the job in February 2002, Bear made a star performance and collared his first criminal, a 17-year-old boy who was a suspect in five burglaries in Largo schools and day care centers. The teen had fled so Bear was released from his muzzle and sicced on his target, who after a long chase was left with six minor puncture wounds on his arm from Bear's teeth.

Usually, there was no need to release the dog from his muzzle. He would find a hidden suspect, and officers would take care of the rest, Brown said. Bear's most memorable escapade was three years ago when he apprehended a suspect who had allegedly stolen money from several Pinellas County grocery stores, including Publix and Albertson's, he said.

After the suspect ran away from his mother's house, Bear followed him on a lengthy chase and found him hiding under a brush pile near Missouri Avenue and Lakeview Road in Clearwater, Brown said.

"Work is playtime to them," said Brown, 40, who was been with the Largo Police Department for nearly 17 years. "It's all a game of hide and seek. They think the bad guy is a playmate."

Bear was supposed to have been retired from the force in October.

Then, he would have stayed in the Browns' house, and a new, younger police dog would have been added to the family, Brown said. Now, he just waits for the new arrival.

Bear is the third police dog to rotate through the Browns' home, and the officer said losing older dogs has been a challenge. Each added a distinct personality to the household.

His family will miss how well Bear played with the other household dogs and how he tried to chase down the rabbits and chickens in the yard, he said.

"I was hoping he could stay with us and be a pet," Brown said.

Sheela Raman can be reached at sraman@sptimes.com or 727 445-4158.

[Last modified March 16, 2007, 07:06:42]