MANSFIELD — A furry, four-legged friend climbed atop a table in council chambers Tuesday night, beaming with energy and tongue hanging from his mouth.
K9 Sam is known for his energetic demeanor.
“This dog takes a lot of energy just to maintain,” said Mansfield Police Chief Ken Coontz during a city council meeting Tuesday night.
Before entering council chambers, Sam was shaking with excitement.
“He thought he was going to be able to come in here and bite somebody or do something,” Coontz said. “No joke.”
But those days are over, now that Sam is retired from the Mansfield Police Department. Council took time to honor Sam for his service during its regular meeting.
A Belgian Malinois/German shepherd mix, Sam came to the department in May 2014. He was imported from Holland, and his primary language is Dutch.
Sgt. Sara Mosier-Napier graduated with Sam on July 15, 2014, with their OPOTA certification in both narcotics and patrol operations.
During his time with the department, he and Mosier-Napier handled a total of 447 incidents. Sam participated in 25 burglary/breaking-and-entering calls, 102 building searches, 31 canine demonstrations to the public and schools, and 15 tracks.
He was also responsible for catching and apprehending six violent offenders, seizing $8,688 from drug dealers and securing $42,220 worth of stolen/recovered property.
As far as narcotic seizures, he helped acquire 25 grams of crack-cocaine, 14 grams of cocaine, 11 grams of methamphetamine, 100 grams of heroin and 1,123 grams of marijuana.
Sam, who is 5 years old, will retire to Mosier-Napier and her family.
Coontz said Sam proved to provide valuable service to the department, saying what he lacks in size (weighing about 55 pounds), he makes up for in drive.
“Trust me, his bite is probably one of the most vicious,” he said.
Mosier-Napier said her sons learned early on not to tease Sam, otherwise they’d end up with deflated basketballs and soccer balls.
“Potentially he could work for another four or five years, but the problem with him is he’s so aggressive and he loves his mom, so none of the guys, I think they could all vouch, that none of them could take him. He would bite them. He’s very, very, very loyal to me and to the family,” Mosier-Napier said.
Sam is Mosier-Napier’s second K9, who is also retired and lives at her home.
“Honestly I wasn’t going to stay with the unit at all because the first one was such a difficult dog,” she said. “I was so grateful to be able to take this dog (Sam) on.”
Coontz said Mosier-Napier and Sam worked as a great team and commended Mosier-Napier for her K9 handling skills.
“Not only has she learned how to handle a dog, but she also agreed to take on learning how to become a K9 trainer,” he said. “Sara is now our Mansfield Police Department K9 trainer.”
Mosier-Napier was also selected by the state VFW post as police officer of the year. She will be recognized at the main VFW post in Cleveland on Saturday.
She and her husband, Mike Napier, were both promoted last June. Mike is a lieutenant with the police department and is part of the department’s SWAT team.
“My husband will tell you the SWAT team is the best, but the K9 unit is the best,” she said.
The K9 unit includes officers Josh Frech, Zac Miller, Korey Kaufman, Denny Kiner, and K9s Ferro, Dani, Denise and Richy.
Mosier-Napier said it’ll be challenging not having her K9 companion with her while she’s working.
“It’s going to be really hard for me to transition from having a dog in my car every day to not having anybody because literally we talk to our dogs,” she said. “I mean, we’re used to the dogs. We get them out.
“So working eight hours without a partner in the car is going be a transition for me, but if I wanted to move up, I had to shift him to home.”
She said Sam will have a fantastic retirement living in the family’s garage, which is heated and air conditioned.
“He’s very spoiled,” she said.
