Waupun Police K-9 Retires

5/12/17 – The Waupun Police Department lost two important members of their force to retirement on Tuesday night. Both Chief Dale Heeringa as well as the departments K-9 are calling it quits. Yako is a nine-year-old German Shepard who had been partnered with Patrol Officer Trevor Kreitzman for the past seven years. Kreitzman says working with Yako has been interesting, rewarding, and frustrating. He adds that the dog often does what he wants but, hopefully, the majority of the time “does what he is supposed to do.” Heeringa says Yako was retired due to health issues and adds that the dog has played a big part in the department for a lot of years. Ownership of Yako was handed over to Kreitzman who says they only change will be when he clocks in to work. Since Yako and Kreitzman were partnered the dog stayed at Kreitzman’s home. Kreitzman says he will not miss the constant barking but when he is at a traffic stop he will miss having him for a drug sniff or watching his back when it is quiet out. Yako’s replacement Boomer is a German Shepard who started on May 6. He has been partnered with Patrol Officer Ryan Schneider.