Buddy 1996 - 1997

Buddy van Etterbach "Buddy" Rest in Peace (Served 1996-1997)

Buddy was bred in Germany and purchased by Adlerhorst. Britt trained in California, at Adlerhorst, for several weeks and Buddy was certified for patrol duty in July of 1996. Britt returned for additional training and Buddy was also certified for narcotics detection, which made Buddy a dually-certified dog for patrol/narcotics detection. Dually-certified police service dogs are not very common in Oregon, compared to just protection/patrol dogs, but Buddy excelled and the K-9 team of Britt Munoz and Buddy van Etterbach began proving their worth by quickly making 20 captures and 5 drug finds.

In 1997 Britt noticed that Buddy had been getting sick and was not recovering very well. It was soon discovered that Buddy had developed leukemia and in 1997 Buddy was laid to rest. Police Service Dogs live with the Officer and actually become part of the family, so it is very hard for the handler as it is like losing a friend. Buddy is greatly missed by both Britt Munoz and the department members who knew him. A memorial fund was established and citizens raised over $3000.00 enabling him to pay for the training of a new dog. Adlerhorst gave Cottage Grove a new dog, so the money that was raised was spent training the new dog. Britt was soon back in California selecting another dog.