Major Frank Spuchesi penned this heartfelt tribute to his K9 partner, Comet, on her passing.
By Major Frank Spuchesi/DWR
Photos by Meghan Marchetti/DWR
One of the most rewarding experiences of my career as a CPO was having the honor of working with Comet and being a member of the K9 team. Those of you who know me know that I have a passion for dogs and catching bad guys, so this combination was right in my wheelhouse, and I truly loved going to work every day.
Major Frank Spuchesi and K9 Coment.
I was introduced to Comet in January 2012. She was a rescue from the Portsmouth area, and although her age and breed were unknown, her extraordinarily high play drive made her an excellent candidate for a working dog. In April 2012, Comet and I graduated from the first DWR K9 school. Throughout her training, she proved to be a quick learner and showed relentless determination, never quitting until she finished the task at hand.
K9 Comet’s intense drive made her an excellent K9 partner for Major Frank Spuchesi.
Comet was trained in three disciplines—human tracking, article searches, and wildlife detection. Her favorite by far was article searches. Our first wildlife case after graduating K9 school took place in Goochland County. Officer Tim Dooley (now First Sgt.) contacted me regarding a landowner who had chased a subject off his property for hunting out of season. The subject was also a convicted felon. While the individual had been located, the firearm had not.
By the time we began our search, it was well after midnight, and we had no clear starting point. I asked Tim to take us to the last known location where the landowner had seen the subject. From there, we began searching. Comet worked methodically, making large circles through the wooded area. As I moved slowly behind her, she suddenly began crawling toward me and sat down about 10 feet away. This was her alert that she had located something.
I shined my flashlight in her direction, but didn’t see anything and told her to get back to work. She left the area, ran a wide circle, and returned to the exact same spot, giving the same alert. Again, I looked and saw nothing. I jokingly called her a “dumb dog” and told her to keep working. That’s when she put her nose to the ground and began moving leaves aside, revealing a metal object hidden in the leaf litter. It turned out to be the firearm we were searching for. At that moment, I realized just how special working with Comet was going to be. Throughout her career, Comet located numerous firearms, shell casings, and shotgun wads, assisting officers in countless investigations.
First Sgt. Tim Dooley snapped this photo of K9 Comet with the gun she found on her first case. “I went to interview the suspect the following day, and I still remember the look on his face when I slid that picture across the table,” Dooley said. “I said, ‘I love dogs, don’t you,’ and he shook his head in disbelief and said, ‘Yeah, you got to.'”
She also excelled at human tracking, whether it was following a trespassing hunter to a stand or locating lost individuals and ensuring their safe return home. Comet was not an aggressive dog. In fact, she loved interacting with kids during school visits and demonstrations. They especially enjoyed watching her locate a hidden duck wing or sit beside a student who had a piece of deer meat in their pocket.
After retiring in June 2018, Comet became a full-time family pet, continuing to show off her skills to friends and family. Unfortunately, on March 13, Comet passed away. She was truly one of a kind and will be greatly missed.
The organization Paws of Honor contributed to K9 Comet’s veterinarian costs and end of life expenses after Comet retired. If you’d like to support the DWR K9 Program with a donation, you can do so through the Ward Burton Wildlife Fund’s Conservation Police K9 Fund.
