Story & Photo By Dan O’brien for UnionLeader.com
Heartbroken police officers are asking for the public’s financial support after the department’s dog, Mica, was diagnosed with cancer on Monday.
A New Boston man has already set up a fund at TD Bank that collected $500 within a couple of hours yesterday.
“If I talk about this for a period of time, I get emotional,” said Mica’s handler, Sgt. Joseph Kelly. “She has a special place in my heart and has touched many people.”
Kelly has framed about a dozen newspaper clippings showing the Belgian Malinois’ accomplishments in her three years at the Weare Police Department. The most notable was when she saved the life of a 4-year-old boy lost in the woods behind his home on Route 149 in August 2008.
“She went around the side of the house and just made a beeline into the woods,” Kelly recalls. “She just kept pulling me.”
Mica, 4, is also credited with capturing many criminals and assisting in narcotics and weapons searches in Weare and surrounding communities over the past three years. Some police dogs are aggressive, but Mica clearly isn’t, licking anyone who comes close, including the hundreds of area elementary school children who have met her during demonstrations.
Kelly said veterinarians say Mica can work off and on during chemotherapy treatments and would be at full capacity if she was cured.
“The prognosis is good, but the treatment is costly,” Kelly said.
Mica was donated to the town and training costs were minimal. Even though the town hasn’t spent much money on Mica up to this point, police officials are reluctant to ask Town Hall to pay for medical expenses because the town is running on a default budget.
“She’s been a great asset to us and other communities for many years. That’s why we’re putting this together,” said Police Chief Gregory Begin, who once was a K-9 officer in Lebanon.
Don Lyons of New Boston set up the TD Bank fund after having volunteered with the animal in recent years.
“How many lost little boys does it take to put a value on this animal?” Lyons said.
In addition to her accomplishments locally, Kelly says Mica has won numerous awards and was nationally certified through the U.S. Police Canine Association last July in Falmouth, Maine.
Lyons says TD Bank has placed photos of Mica in area banks with information on how people can donate. Kelly says he’s grateful for Lyons’ help and interest.
“He’s been a supporter of the K-9 program since its inception,” Kelly said.
Donations are accepted at any TD Bank branch. Checks should be payable to the Weare Police Department K-9 Relief Fund.
