THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2020 ~ THE ADVOCATE ASKS ~ Page 3 Former Saugus Police Dept. K9 officers recall what made their dogs so special Gerry A: When we weren’t working the midnight shift together, he was a family dog. When he was off-duty, he was a pet around the house. When it was time to go to work, he was a completely different dog: He was all business. And he loved half of my coffee and a couple of munchkins to go with it; he enjoyed having coffee with me, and it was like building a bond. We also did a lot of demonstrations for the Boy Scouts, some schools and Kiwanis and the Route One Businessmen’s Association. When everybody was patting him, he became a FORMER | SEE PAGE 6 D’Ambrosio Attorney-at-Law Is Your Estate in Order? Do you have an update Will, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney? If Not, Please Call for a Free Consultation. 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere (781) 284-5657 FIRST SAUGUS K9 UNIT: Ralph Nasuti and K-9 Spike. (Courtesy photos to The Saugus Advocate) E ditor’s Note: For this week, we talked to six of the former Saugus Police Department K9 officers who served the town over a period spanning more than a half a century. We asked the officers to recall their favorite memories about the dogs they handled. We were able to interview all but one of the K9 officers – the late Officer Roger Godfrey, who handled K9 Josh. Highlights of our interviews follow. Officer Ralph Nasuti, who worked on the Police Department for 28 years, retired in 1993. He handled K9 Spike and was the first of the Police Department’s K9 officers. Q: So, what is your favorite memory of K9 Spike? A: I was at Russo’s (Candy House) and he saved my life. The guy I was looking for was in the ceiling, up on top of the heating duct. Spike let me know. My dog saved my life that day. Q: How long did you have Spike? A: I had Spike for about 10 years. The dog never left my side. I loved that dog. After my wife, that dog was the best thing in my life. He never left my side. Everywhere I went, I knew I was safe with that dog. He was the greatest thing I had with the Police Department – better than a gun. I cried when he died. Officer James Magill, who served for 34 years on the Saugus police force before retiring in 2001, said his best years were as a handler for K9 Sampson. Q: What was your best memory of K9 Sampson? A: Having the dog by my side all of the time. I would trust the dog before I would trust the men. The dog was very, very loyal. He didn’t like children – young boys – for some reason, so I always kept him away from kids. The dog grew too big. He was a monster when he passed away; he must have weighed 149 pounds. Q: Did he make any big cases? A: Yeah. I remember when he got involved in a stolen car on Route 107. He got the guy out in the marsh. Officer Andrew Evlog, who worked for the Police Department for 39 years, retired in 2005. He handled K9 Huntz for four years. Q: So, what is your favorite K9 Huntz memory? A: We got called in for a break-in at Sears around the jewelry counter. They called me after one in the morning. I took him to the jewelry counter where the glass was smashed and stuff was stolen. I let him sniff the area and he took me to the back of the storage room, where he caught the guy. He had $80,000 worth of jewelry. Sears was so happy that they offered to take care of any expenses for the K9 car – to maintain the vehicle, for oil changes and new tires – but the town said “no.” There were quite a few incidents like that; he did a lot of good work. K9 Huntz was one of the best partners I ever had. Q: So, what made him special?
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