K9 officer recognized by commission

Niko worked in the Patrol Division for nine years

Alachua Police Department Officer David Floyd's four-footed compansion, eleven year old Niko, served as a working K9 for the Alachua Police Department for nine years prior to his recent retirement.

Retiring after nine years on the job would be an unusually brief career by most standards.

Then again, most standards only measure in human years.

K9 Niko, who served the Alachua Police Department (APD) for 49 dog years, was recognized at Monday night’s City Commission meeting for his work in the Patrol Division of the APD.

“This is the good part of my job,” said Chief of Police Joel DeCoursey.

Niko, an 11-year-old German Shepherd, and his handler, Officer David Floyd, were also congratulated by Patrol Sergeant Carl Newsome, who spoke for a few minutes about the contributions made to the Alachua community by police dogs.

“This dog makes an impression on our community as a fighter of crime and a teacher,” said Newsome, who emphasized the popularity of police dogs with young children during demonstrations at schools.

“We get there with motorcycles and cars and flashing lights and what do they want to see? ‘Where’s the dog?’” said Newsome.

Floyd, who served as Niko's handler for the entire nine years, said his favorite part of working with Niko was doing demonstrations for kids.

“What they really want to see is the dog bite someone,” said Floyd.

Niko's duties as a police dog included detecting narcotics, apprehending suspects and initiating building searches. Niko made building searches safer for his two-legged coworkers by alerting them to the presence of people who might be hidden behind doors or around corners.

Also present at the meeting were four of Niko’s canine colleagues from APD and the Gainesville Police Department. The dogs were so enthusiastic in congratulating Niko on his retirement that the commission moved to alter the agenda just prior to the meeting, so that Niko’s recognition could be the first item.

Niko, who was donated to APD by a citizen in 2001, will live at home with Officer Floyd. Floyd said that retirement will be a difficult adjustment for Niko.

“For him, what he loves most, going to work, he doesn't get to do anymore,” said Floyd.