Funeral held for K-9 dog killed in Plymouth Township

Andy, a Plymouth Township K-9 dog who died in the line of duty, was memorialized yesterday with all the pageantry typical of the police brotherhood.

Uniformed officers saluted en masse and a bagpiper played "Going Home" as Andy's ashes were carried by his human partner before the service.

"People think it's only a dog," said Robert Krause, a retired funeral director who traveled from Cape May for the memorial service.

"This opens up their eyes," Krause's wife, Louise, said.

Andy the dog was also Andy the partner and Andy badge No. 913 of the Plymouth Township Police K-9 Unit. He tracked down bad guys and sniffed out narcotics. The German shepherd, who had served as a police dog for seven years before he died in the line of duty last week, was remembered yesterday as a laid-back partner who only turned into a "fireball" when necessary.

Nearly 400 officers, firefighters and emergency service personnel from more than 50 departments around the region attended the outdoor services at the Plymouth Community Center Band Shelter. The procession to the burial site - a ceremonial last ride around the township - was 100 cars long.

Andy was shot accidentally when he and his partner, Officer Louis Layfield, answered a robbery call at an Abington Bank office in Lower Gwynedd. Andy had been let off his leash to search for suspects when he came upon Robert Johnson, a Montgomery Township officer who also answered the call.

Johnson was pursuing the suspects with his gun drawn, said Plymouth Township Chief Joseph F. Lawrence. When Andy spotted the gun, he leaped for the officer. K-9 dogs are trained to go after the gun, Lawrence said, and Andy was trying to protect his partner.

When Layfield attempted to pull Andy off Johnson's leg, Johnson's gun accidentally discharged. The bullet went through the dog and hit Layfield, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest.

"This was an accident," Layfield said during the memorial service. "I have no malice in my heart."

Layfield and Johnson, who did not attend the service, have spoken since the shooting, said Robert Hart, who leads the Montgomery Township K-9 Unit. Johnson was traumatized after the incident; before the shooting, he had wanted to pursue a career with the K-9 Unit, Hart said.

After the service, Layfield, 39, of Lower Providence, said he isn't sure that he'll return to the Plymouth Township K-9 Unit when he returns to work after some time off.

Layfield and Andy were part of a four-team K-9 Unit in the township. German shepherds Brix, Judo and Bosko, along with their officer partners, were at graveside during Andy's burial service adjacent to the police headquarters on Valley Road.

The ceremonies were attended by mourners from area police departments including Cheltenham, Darby Borough, Philadelphia and Burlington, as well as local residents and animal lovers from around the region.

Ardis Lukens of Plymouth Township came to pay her respects because a Plymouth Township officer had once given her two old dogs he found tied up and abandoned in a junkyard. The dogs became her beloved Freddie and Ethel.

The Krauses, who traveled from New Jersey, have an unusual calling. Louise Krause makes memorial cards for deceased military, and search and rescue dogs. She also creates memorial pages for the dogs on her Web site. Andy is now among the 500 that she has memorialized in 10 years.