Home >  Local News >  Neighborhoods

Wednesday, February 12, 2003

By M.J. Place

If all goes well, Wilkinsburg's police dog Faro will be back on his feet -- and back on his beat -- by early summer.

	Wilkinsburg Patrolman Tom Proctor last week made a public appeal for donations because his canine partner, Faro, needs surgery for back problems. (John Beale, Post-Gazette)

The 3-year-old German shepherd suffers from a shifting vertebra at the base of his spine, which causes extreme pain and paralysis in the left hind leg.

Because the borough couldn't afford the $4,000 needed for corrective surgery, Faro's trainer and partner, officer Tom Proctor, made a public appeal for funds.

"The response has been fantastic," said Wilkinsburg Police Chief Richard Dwyer, referring to the money the department has received over the past week.

"Donations from older people saying they could only afford $5 but wanted to help, get-well cards from children and one donation from Brentwood, Calif."

Dwyer said one man with a private plane called and offered to fly Faro to Columbus, Ohio, for the operation.

Dwyer and Proctor don't know how much has been collected since donations are still coming in, but Dwyer said it should be enough to cover the cost of the operation and medication needed during Faro's two-month recovery.

Proctor will take Faro to Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital in Columbus Feb. 26 for X-rays, blood tests and an MRI to determine the exact nature and extent of his back problem.

Surgery will follow, but Proctor doesn't have an exact date yet.

Faro, who is from the Czech Republic, began K-9 training in August and lives with Proctor, 36, an eight-year veteran of the department, at his home in Westmoreland County.

Faro's job, said Proctor, is to help catch the bad guys and make all the officers, not just his partner, feel more secure when entering an abandoned building or pursuing a suspect.

"He's not there just to keep me safe; he keeps everyone on my shift safe," said Proctor, recalling a recent arrest in which the suspect tossed his weapon across the street when Faro grabbed him.

And although his vertebra isn't where it should be, Faro's heart, said Proctor, is in exactly the right place.

"There aren't many human officers out there that would chase after somebody without a gun and a vest," he said.

Proctor and Faro will be at the Petco store at The Waterfront in Homestead from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, where cookbook author and former Wilkinsburg resident Stephanie Simmons will sell her homemade dog biscuits for $5 a bag, with proceeds to go to Faro's medical fund.

M.J. Place is a freelance writer.