By Gary Massaro
Max with the Mulqueen family, with whom he’ll continue to live. Photos courtesy of Chandra Thurston, Greenwood Village Police Forensic Services Technician.
The top dog of the Greenwood Village Police Department retired May 7.
That would be Max, a 10-year-old German shepherd from Belgium who has served Greenwood Village for nine years.
Max and Jeff Mulqueen have been partners from Day 1. Mulqueen volunteered for the job.
Fellow officers gave Max a big sendoff May 7, enjoying a potluck themselves.
Officers are being commemorated nationwide during National Peace Officers Memorial Day, May 15.
Det. Sarah Malafronte said she was bringing Alpo.
One of Max’s tasks was to be a tracker dog. And Malafronte, among others, helped in the training.
“I’d drop my hair tie. Then I’d climb over as many fences and different surfaces at night,” Malafronte said. “We’d play hide and seek with the dog.”
Max was supposed to sniff out her trail, and did.
Max’s big advantage was big teeth.
“He never got a chance to bite anybody on purpose,” Mulqueen said. “Everybody gave up.”
Max, retiring K-9 cops, gets a pet behind the ears for a career well done.
Max was probably the most versatile cop on the force in this respect: he could make a collar while wearing one.
But he wasn’t car aggressive, like some K-9 cops you’ve heard snarling and snapping when you walk near the vehicle they’re in. There was a good reason for Max’s more laid-back disposition.
“When he first came on, I had so many mechanical problems that Max was used to so many people being in his truck,” Mulqueen said.
Max never called off sick. But he was laid up six months for back surgery after he jumped off a platform and slipped a disk.
Greenwood Village hasn’t decided if it will replace Max.
“I’ll be talking to myself in the car,” Mulqueen said. “He sits at the door every day, wanting to go to work. I have to tell him that no, he has to stay home. He gave me that little bit of confidence because you know that somebody’s always going to be on calls with you.”
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reporter@villagerpublishing.com
