Sun staff
Officer Craig Heintzelman plans to build what is likely the first police dog memorial in Ohio in the village of Amelia.
Heintzelman, who is the canine handler for the Amelia and the New Richmond Police Departments, spoke to the Amelia Council on May 12 about building a memorial to all police dogs in Ohio.
Heintzelman was looking for a way to give back to the dogs that he loves very much, he said. Also, he hasn’t found any other police dog memorial in Ohio.
“We always think of the people but we never think of the animals that serve for us,” Heintzelman said.
The more canine handlers Heintzelman speaks to, the more people he finds that are excited about his idea and want to help.
There are also local organizations committed to the cause. Beeco Monument is donating a piece of granite that Heintzelman wants to inscribe a poem onto and Bard Nurseries and Landscaping has offered to donate landscaping.
Heintzelman hopes to fully fund the project with donations.
Heintzelman is planning to make the memorial about a 30-foot circle. He plans to put stones with police dog names on the outside of the circle.
On one side, Heintzelman plans to have a piece of granite with the poem “Guardians Of The Night” on it. He also plans to have the Ohio flag, the American flag and the police memorial flag on flagpoles and three benches.
“It’s endless what you can do with this,” Mayor Todd Hart said.
Heintzelman’s idea comes not even two months after his first day with the department on March 24.
Adding a canine officer is very costly, so the Amelia Council passed an ordinance allowing dual commission, so the canine officer could hold a commission in Amelia and in another department, Chief Jeff Wood said.
Heintzelman has been working for the New Richmond Police Department for three years. Gator, his two-year-old dog, has been working a year and a half.
Working in two places gives Gator more time to work, which is what he wants to do, Wood said.
“With the heroin epidemic that’s going on right now all over the place it’s been an asset,” Wood said.
Heintzelman hopes to have the memorial finished in time for a training the Ohio State Highway Patrol is putting on the first week of August for police dogs and their handlers.
The memorial will be located at 119 W. Main St. in Amelia.
For more information, go to the Ohio Police K9 Memorial page on Facebook. To donate, call 513-718-9135.