This dog was described as “the best partner.” He was known for finding criminals and missing people. Jo was the dog’s name. He was a 14-year-old German Shepard, former police dog. He retired in 2008 and died April 2 this year. His handler was Paul Sires is a former West Haven detective who retired in 2008 with Jo, but chose to keep the dog as a friend. He said that Jo “had numerous narcotic finds with convictions and tracking, and he was known all over the state.”

According to the New Haven Register, Jo was Sires’ second police dog. When Jo was donated to the canine unit in 2000, Sires was in charge of the unit. Jo was just over a year old, and from then on only worked with and lived with Sires. Officer Scott Bloom, who is currently one of the canine handlers in the department, had this to say about the dog: “A lot of guys in that Police Department—when Jo showed up on the scene with Paul – they were extremely confident that if the person was still in that area, the person was going to get caught.” The officer went on to say that that is one of the reasons that he began working with a dog.

Not only was the dog wonderful at catching criminals and finding narcotics, he was also good with children. He did demonstrations at schools around the city and found several missing kids. Police Spokesman Officer Bret Schneider released a statement on the Chief’s behalf, “We’re saddened at the loss of Jo. We appreciate all the dedication and time that both of them put in while they were at the West Haven Police Department.”