HISTORY
The City of Burlington Police K-9 Unit was the first in Burlington County, established in March 1965, over 50 years ago. The first K-9 officer and partner on the force was Officer Marino (Bud) Sasdelli and his 100-pound German Shepherd, K-9 King. Officer Sasdelli donated his K-9, King, and together they became a major asset to the police force. The unit was created specifically for evening patrols and officer protection and quickly grew to include Officer Harry Morgan and his K-9 partner, Sergeant. The first K-9 vehicle was a 1965 Chevrolet Biscayne Wagon.
During the 1970s, the force had Officer Nicholas Abate and his partner K-9 Zeus, who was trained in apprehension and search. In the early 1990s, Lt. Patrick Edwardson worked with his black Labrador partner, K-9 Scandy, as well as his brown Labrador, K-9 Buster, both trained in narcotics detection. However, there was a gap until the early 2000s, when the City of Burlington Police Force no longer had K-9 teams.
In 2001, Officer Alan Snow (now Retired Chief) revived the K-9 Unit with the help of community supporters and funding. His partner, K-9 Rocky, helped bring the unit back to life, and it quickly became a vital part of the force once again. Over the past 20 years, the City of Burlington Police Force has had many dedicated K-9s on duty. All of our K-9s and their handlers have been trained at the Philadelphia Police K-9 Academy in specific scent recognition and tracking services. Training doesn’t stop at graduation—these dogs and their dedicated handlers continue their training throughout their service.
Currently, Officer Zeuner and K-9 Dutch (narcotics and tracking), Officer Martinez and K-9 Echo (explosives and tracking), and SRO Pascal and K-9 Sully (therapy) are out in the community, serving the public.
In recent years, we’ve had to say a tearful goodbye to K-9 Rocky, K-9 Mic, K-9 Miki, K-9 Odie, K-9 Max, K-9 Duce, K-9 Tonto, K-9 Kobi, K-9 Rico, and K-9 Zero, who served our officers and community well. These dogs were not only dedicated K-9 officers, but also partners, friends, and family.
