Weiss takes his elected role seriously, and can often be seen at planning, zoning and other meetings in the Township. But he was strangely absent from the Commissioners' meeting on August 1. That day just happened to be his 30th wedding anniversary. He played hooky to treat his bride to a rare night on the town. Weiss hopes the public will forgive him, but is not so sure his wife would be so willing to overlook his absence on their Pearl anniversary.
But the star of the night was Castro. He was there for a fight.
Comm'r Michael Hudak, festooned in his 345th-degree black belt, denies that Weiss' selection had anything to do with his August 1 absence, but he and Township Manager Howard Kutzler had front row seats, and were smiling ear to ear.
It was no contest. You see, Castro is a cop. He's not like you or me. He's a beast. In fact, he's a Belgian Malinois police dog assigned to work with K-9 Officer Dan Barsnica.
What does he do? "His primary asset is his presence," answers Officer Barsnica. While patrolling just a few days before, Barsnica asked someone to come out of a building, announcing "Police, Come out!" Greeted with silence, Barsnica got Castro out of the cruiser and this time called out, "K-9 Police! Come out!" Then Castro started barking, too, and the suspect came out of hiding faster than kids running for free ice cream on National Night Out.
He likes to work, too, even when he is sick. If Barsnica goes on patrol without him, he cries and barks until Mrs. Barsnica puts her foot down. "If I could teach him to drive, he'd be the perfect partner," deadpanned this K-9 officer.
19 comments:
Having knowledge of the K-9 law enforcement community, Castro is widely believed to be the fiercest K-9 officer in the entire LV. His off duty manners need improvement. But his professional conduct, and that of his handler, is simply unmatched. These dogs are remarkable.
Its a police dog. Its not there to be friends. When unleashed it needs to be fierce. When off duty put it in a cage.
Weiss is a class act, Bethlehem Township is fortunate to have him as a commissioner.
Why does the Twp need a dog?
Taser's, guns, pepper spray, what else do cops need?
How much did it cost the taxpayers to send to where ever to see how fast it can run?
I though Castro was a remarkable animal. His trainer is a consummate professional, too.
Police officers are exposed, day and night, to life-threatening situations. I would argue that having a partner like Castro makes the unintended consequences from tasers and guns far less likely.
That night on patrol, if there had been no dog, Barsnick would have had to have called for backup and then go into that building to look for the bad guy. It is very likely there would have been violence, and someone would have ended up being hurt badly.
The police dog, Castro, made all of that unnecessary. How do you put a price tag on that?
"Weiss is a class act, Bethlehem Township is fortunate to have him as a commissioner."
Agreeed. He was a goood sport about the whole thing. Before it happened, he told me he was going to run hard and give Castro a work out. But that dog had him in a split second. It was an amazing sight.
Just for the record, The 100 yard speed test was at a training seminar and the speed test was free. Guns, Tasers, and everything else why a dog. Simple, I would rather place my partner in harms way to possible sacrifice his life, rather then have another officer killed. Do you want to be the one to knock on the door of the killed officers house and tell his wife she's know a widow..I didn't think so. And the last time I checked, humans cant smell drugs or money in a hidden compartment or track a lost child. -Ofc. Barsnica
Officer Barsnica, I owe you an apology for misspelling your name. You were kind enough to spell it out for me and i still got it wrong. I will correct my error now, and I thank you for what you do. Believe me, I want to be on your good side.
I might add that plenty of people claim they can smell me.
I have always been proud of Officer Barsnica as a person and most certainly as a dedicated police and K-9 officer. He has also taken on the challenge of scuba diving to broaden his skills as a law enforcement professional. His service as a Marine laid the foundation for his dedication to public safety. Officers Barsnica and Castro make a great team and are an asset to Bethlehem Township. One must not forget that Mrs. Barsnica is also an active part of that team who is very supportive of their work and well being.
Semper Fi,
Thomas R. Whetstine
Ofc. Barsnica,
It was great meeting you and Castro yesterday. You are both truly dedicated to your work and we are lucky to have you protecting us. I am constantly amazed at the intelligence of these dogs and how much they extend our ability to be protected from the "bad guys."
To your angry and uninformed taxpayer, Ofc. Barsnica paid his own money for the privlige to own Castro and use him to protect you along with his human police force. You are also very lucky to have them on your side.
All the best,
Lisa Schnell
Ugh! Privlige = Privilege...sorry for the typo.
The Bond between man and canine is stronger than the bond between man and man
He paid out of his own pocket??
Incredible.
We need more people like Officer Barsnicka.
"Its a police dog. Its not there to be friends. When unleashed it needs to be fierce. When off duty put it in a cage."
Likely a comment from a cat owner. Officers who handle K-9s have homes and families, too. You can't just put dogs on the shelf with the vest and service weapon. Fierce working dogs can make fine pets.
His off duty manners need improvement...cracked up when I read that as I looked over and saw my one dog eating my daughter's stuffed giraffe and my other dog had an ice cream box from the trash in his mouth!
At least he wasn't licking his ass. My grandson's dog does that right before she licks me. I swear she's after me.
Does anyone realize there are TWO police K9's at Bethlehem Township? I hear all the hoopla over Dan and Castro, when in fact Bryan and Aras are also in the unit. I assume that Officer Barsnica never even mentioned this fine team of officers. I don't even know if the "other" team was invited to National Night Out, which is an often occurrence.
Officer Aras was also mentioned in the paper for a substantial narcotic find. Hmmmm, no mention of that either.
I doubt seriously that there was any desire to snub Bryan and Aras. I never asked Officer Barsnica to go onto detail about the K-9 unit, so if there is fault to be found, please take it out on me. Also, please feel free to contact me (BOHare5948@aol,com), and i would be happy do a story. Probably every K-9 team is a story waiting to be told.
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