It's been a good long run for Blaze, the German Shepard who's made headlines over the past few years for helping sniff out AutoZone robbery suspects from a ceiling in Brooklyn, matched the scent of a gun left in the Bronx to its suspected owner, and found a body in the rubble of a fire in the Bronx. And now, nine year-old Blaze is retiring in Staten Island, where he'll live with his handler, Officer Benny Colvecchio.
Recently, Blaze was slowed by some health issues, including a series of operations to remove an infected toe (!), relieve a pinched nerve, and to ease stomach bloat. The pup has lived with Colvecchio, a member of Staten Island's 120th Precinct, and his family, including five children, for almost his entire life, after moving here from the Czech Republic in 2003. "You form a bond, an incredible bond," Colvecchio told the Daily News. "We just hit it off. I'm happy-go-lucky, and so is he. He's very friendly. I've got five kids and they love him." Colveccio and two other officers are currently working on training a new K9 partner, who is presumably just as cute.
