MERIDEN, Conn. — K9 Officer “Bear” and K9 Officer “Heidi” spent Monday frolicking in the snow by the Connecticut Police Memorial in Meriden, but in the next few days, their mission will be more serious.
The K9 officers, both 2-year-old Labrador Retrievers, are heading to New York for the wake and funeral of Officer Wilbert Mora, who along with Detective Jason Rivera, were slain on Jan. 21 after responding to a domestic dispute in Harlem.
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Bear, with partner and handler Officer Jay Bodell from Middletown, and Heidi, with partner and handler Officer Rich Simons from the Yale University Police Department, will be helping with support and therapy dog services for the thousands who will be at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan to pay respect to Officer Mora, who was just 27 years old.
“We’re going to be there with the coworkers, the families, and the friends of officer Mora and anything else they need from us,” Bodel said.
Officer Simons added the K9s offer something special: “They support these officers in a way that some people can’t. They’re able to touch these dogs, interact with the dogs.”
Bodell and Bear lent their support during Detective Rivera’s service this past Friday in New York as well.
Both K9 Bear and K9 Heidi are graduates of the “Puppies Behind Bars” program, which enlists prison inmates to pay things forward by training police dogs. Bodell noted that Connecticut has eight police service dogs from the renowned Puppies Behind Bars program – five of them will go to New York and represent Connecticut by helping at the wake and funeral for Officer Mora.
“It’s an amazing to know that a group of small towns and cities from Connecticut can go provide assistance to the largest agency in the Country…these dogs shine in times of crisis and it’s up to us to be there,” Bodell said.
You can follow K9 Bear and K9 Heidi on Instagram:
@K9_Bearmiddletownpd
@ofcheidi_yalepd
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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