RETIRED
Zeus, a German Shepherd. Joined APD in 1999, when it was determined that the talents of a fully trained patrol K9 could be beneficial in Alliance.
Zeus, while still trained as a narcotics detection dog, also had a list of skills that included tracking persons, building and area searches for persons, evidence searches, criminal apprehension, and officer protection. After completing all OPOTA state certifications, Zeus joined the patrol division at APD. He performed drug detection and patrol functions as part of the midnight shift. He was always on call to assist other shifts and APD divisions, and was often called on by other agencies to assist them.
Zeus’s favorite duty was tracking. Many times he was called on to find suspects who had fled and eluded capture, resulting in many felony arrests. He was also successful in finding lost persons, such as the night he was called on by a neighboring agency to find a lost women. The distraught woman had left a home in a rural area at 3AM in 10 degree weather without a jacket and become lost. When the officers of that agency could not locate the woman, Zeus was called to the scene. He located the woman’s scent on the ground, followed it from a roadway, across corn fields and deep into a wooded area where he led officers to the unconscious woman.
Zeus also continued Jerico’s tradition of performing public demonstrations. Crowds always enjoyed watching Zeus jump from his patrol car and chase down the “bad guy”.
Zeus retired from the Alliance Police Department in October 2005, having established the successful use of patrol K9’s in Alliance. His work helped APD grow to a two K9 department. He left APD in the good “paws” of K9 Kai and K9 Papi.
Canine Handler for Zeus: Lt. John Jenkins - email