K-9 handler thanks community
MONONGAHELA – Monongahela police K-9 Beny had been on patrols for eight years when his back legs became paralyzed in October, requiring the dog to undergo costly emergency surgery.
The news caused the community to rally together to hold bake sales and seek other donations to cover the $6,000 cost of the canine cop’s surgery, said Beny’s handler, Monongahela officer Larry Maraldo, who held an event Thursday at the local library to thank everyone for saving his partner.
“It’s beautiful,” Maraldo said at Monongahela Area Library, where sugar cookies shaped like dog treats were served at the party.
“It means a lot that they care about him,” he said.
Maraldo said the Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Center was unsure what caused Beny’s spinal cord to require surgery.
“One of his discs let go,” he said. “It could have been from repetitive motion or something in training.”
The surgery involved cleaning out his spinal column, leaving Beny with a large rectangular-shaped patch of new hair across his lower back.
Beny was off duty for nearly two months, and for much of that time, he had to remain motionless for 23 ½ hours a day.
Maraldo said he sensed that his dog got angry at having to stay home while he went to work because Beny began to chew up everything in their residence, something the dog had never done before.
Beny, who is a drug sniffing and crowd control dog, may retire at the end of the year, Maraldo said. Their work history includes serving in Pittsburgh in 2009 when President Barack Obama hosted the G20 Summit in the city.
Lyndsey Zanolli of Monongahela, who brought her young daughters to the party, said it was nice to see the community show such affection for Beny.
“That’s hard to come by,” she said.