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Waynesville’s new police dog hits the ground wagging

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By Justin McClelland, Staff Writer 2:08 PM Saturday, December 26, 2009

WAYNESVILLE — The police department here will break in a new rookie over the next few months, and this officer’s uniform comes with a matching collar.

Diego, a 14-month-old German shepherd, will soon patrol the streets as a member of the police force, thanks to a generous donation from a local businessman.

The Waynesville Police Department found itself down a member when Ramsey, its previous police dog, retired due to old age. Because the village is experiencing steep budget problems, Chief Gary Copeland was unsure if they could afford to replace Ramsey with a new police dog, even though he believed a canine cop brought a lot of positives to the force.

Mickey Reese, owner of the local McDonald’s franchise, heard about the department’s concern and decided to do something about it.

Reese, through his company, donated $1,200 to purchase Diego as Waynesville’s new police dog. Reese said he made the contribution to give something back to a community that has always supported him.

“I feel so fortunate to work in this great village,” Reese said. “The people rallied around me when my restaurant burned down (in 2006) and I wanted to try and help out in some small way.”

This is not the first time Reese has proven to be man’s best best friend. He had previously donated $1,800 to Waynesville police to equip a car so that a police dog could more easily ride in it.

“You could have knocked me over with a feather,” said Officer Richard Warneke, Diego’s partner in the field. “With the economic troubles in Waynesville and everywhere, (Reese’s) willing to step up to the plate was great.”

When he is off-duty, Diego will live with Warneke. The officer has already introduced his four-legged partner to his family.

“We’re getting to know each other and learn our personalities,” Warneke said. “He met my grandkids the other day.”

Both Warneke and Copeland said having a canine officer on the force serves many purposes. Diego is trained to sniff drugs and other contraband. He is also adept at finding missing people. Diego also acts as a positive public relations tool for the force, Warneke said.

“He’ll attend a lot of schools, social groups, and Cub Scout meetings,” Warneke said. “Everybody wants to see the police dog and find out about what he can do.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.

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