Browse archives: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995

Published on 02/23/1998 All articles from this issue

Police officer resigns, takes K-9 friend with him

printer friendly version

By Joanne Griffith Domingue

Town Crier Staff Writer

Los Altos Police Chief Lucy Carlton announced the resignation of her first canine team, officer Craig W. Penley and the German shepherd, Disco.

After being on a leave since October, Penley resigned early in February.

"Sometimes people need to step back from their jobs," Carlton said. "It was a voluntary resignation. He left in good standing."

Carlton said she could not comment on the reasons for Penley's leave because of the confidentiality of personnel records. She said Penley, who has a pilot's license and flies, is looking into "airline-related fields."

Penley, in his mid-30s, had been with the Los Altos department about 10 years, Carlton said. Disco arrived in January 1996 from Germany.

"The dog comes trained. You have to train the handler," Carlton said. They grew into an inseparable team, known all over the community. Since "hitting the streets" in March 1996, the team made a number of successful arrests, searches and tracks, police said.

The city, which owned the dog, allowed Penley to buy Disco. They were so close, it was a "decision of the heart" to allow Penley to have the dog. He paid full market value for Disco, in the neighborhood of $5,000, Carlton said.

"It was the most humane approach as well as the most cost effective," said Dianne Gershuny, Los Altos City Manager. The city could have kept the dog and trained a new handler.

But because of the close bonding between Penley and Disco, "there was no guarantee Disco would have responded as well with another handler," Carlton said. "Craig was a great handler. I'm convinced Disco did as well as he did because Craig brought it out in him."

The cost and the time to train a new handler with Disco vs. buying a new dog and training a new handler was about the same, Carlton said.

"We're already looking for a new dog," Gershuny said. "We'll miss both. I'm sad to lose the first dog (police K-9)."

Carlton is processing applications from within the police department for another handler and expects the new K-9 team to be "out on the street" by summer.