Two retiring Biloxi Police K-9s, Diesel and Samson, Â were honored this week for their service to the community, a career that some could argue spanned a collective 133 years, in the oft-quoted dog years calculation.
Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, Police Chief John Miller, Sgts. Jason Gruich and Eugene Palmer and family members and friends of the officers gathered at City Hall  during the Tuesday evening council meeting to thank Diesel and Samson for their contributions to the Biloxi Police Department and citizens of Biloxi.
Each police dog was presented with a proclamation by Mayor Gilich proclaiming Sept. 6, 2016 as “K-9 Diesel and K-9 Samson Day.”
Diesel, a Belgian Malinois, worked with Palmer for 11 years, and together they were responsible for the apprehending 400 criminal suspects, seizing more than a 1,000 pounds of illegal narcotics and $1.5 million in ill-gotten drug monies.
Samson, a German Shepherd, worked with Gruich for eight years. Together, the duo was responsible for the arresting more than 250 criminal suspects and numerous seizures of illegal narcotics.
K-9s Diesel and Samson have also participated in more than 100 drug searches and demonstrations at Biloxi Public Schools.
Both K-9s are retiring from the police department because of age and will live their retirement at home with their handlers.
Said Gilich: “Both K-9s are remarkable, intelligent, specially trained officers, and you can see that they have developed a unique relationship with their handlers. Â We have been honored to have had Diesel and Samson as members of our police department. ”
See photos from the council meeting
Here a chance to register your pooch for training
Those interested in attending the Pet-Agree Canine Training Classes at Hiller Park now have additional time to register. The deadline, originally set for Friday, has been extended to next Friday.
“Extending the registration through Sept. 16 gives pet parents more time to sign their puppies and dogs up and allows us to move the class start date to Sept. 19 instead of next week,” Parks & Recreation Director Cheryl Bell said.
The training classes, divided into puppy and beginner levels, are for five weekly one-hour sessions. The puppy level class, open to puppies 10 weeks and older, will begin on Monday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. Through the course, puppies will be taught basic obedient commands such as sit, stay, heel, down, and wait. Pet parents will be given tips on potty training, grooming and more.
The beginner level class, open to dogs ages 5 months and older, will begin on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. and will also include basic obedience commands as well as assistance with the correction of behaviors such as incessant barking.
Classes are limited to 15 registrants and each participate will receive a certificate upon course complete.
Registration is available weekdays at the Parks & Recreation office, 377 Hiller Drive, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fees for the puppy level is $79 and $135 for beginner level and all dogs must have first two booster and rabies vaccinations.
See the updated flyer
News and notes
Podcasting:Â You can hear the latest on recent City Hall personnel moves, get updates on a couple of front beach construction projects, and get a weekend preview in this week’s City Desk podcast. To listen to the program, click here.
Traffic update: Get today’s updates on streets and drainage work throughout the city in Traffic Update. To go there now, click here.
Let’s go YouTubing: Collectively, the videos on the city’s YouTube have been viewed tens of thousands of times. You should see what you’re missing: a video introduction to the city, States of the City addresses through the years, a collection of video vignettes about Biloxi’s colorful history, and the list goes on and on. To visit the city’s YouTube page, click here.
