BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Officer Roy Sims places his K-9 pins on his dog's casket.
(Patrick Reddy photo)
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FORT MITCHELL -- When cemetery workers lowered Cliff the Covington police dog into the ground Tuesday, they also buried a veteran officer's canine career.
Officer Roy Sims, for the first time in almost eight years, will go back to work without a German shepherd in the back of his cruiser. The department does not plan to replace the dog, saying the other two are enough.
The officer's retirement from canine work was symbolized when he took his K-9 pins off his uniform and laid them on the dog's wooden coffin.
"As you can see," he told the crowd of 25 that gathered for Cliff's burial, "I've turned in my pins. This is pretty much it for me."
Officer Sims was one of two Covington canine officers who sued the department in 1996 over money they said they were owed for time spent working with their dogs. The matter was settled, and Assistant Chief Bill Dorsey said the suit has nothing to do with the department's decision not to buy Officer Sims another dog.
Cliff, 7 1/2, was laid to rest in the pet area of Highland Cemetery. The dog, a member of the Covington Police Department since he was 18 months old, died Sunday. His veterinarian thinks a bee sting three weeks ago activated a latent condition, possibly cancer, which led to his blood failing to clot.
The service brought out several of the Covington department's top administrators, including a sergeant in full honor-guard dress. Other canine handlers came, too, from Covington, Dry Ridge, Newport and the Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Ken Holstein, one of Covington's two remaining canine officers, came to the service in support of his fellow officer. Four years ago, when Officer Holstein's former dog, Ingo, had to be put to sleep, it was Officer Sims who took it to the vet when Officer Holstein couldn't bear to.
That's the kind of bond canine officers have, both with their dogs and with each other, Officer Holstein said.
"There's such an attachment there," he said. "You not only work with them every day, but you care for them every day, too. People just don't realize."
Officer Sims, who will bring home a new pet-only puppy in two weeks, was grateful for how everyone acknowledged what the dog meant to him.
"Thank you for coming," he said. "This was my friend."
