Officer Maney remembers Watertown Police K-9 partner Nico after loss

Feb. 5—WATERTOWN — Losing a pet is hard enough, let alone losing your pet, best friend, and coworker all in one, which is what Watertown police officer Michael M. Maney is being forced to deal with after his beloved German Shepherd Nico died last week.

Nico was part of a K-9 unit with the Watertown Police Department alongside his handler Mr. Maney, who had Nico since 2012.

"I got extremely lucky with the partner I picked," he said.

Mr. Maney said he went down to get him in Pennsylvania, and Nico retired from the force in December 2020.

Christina M. Maney, wife of Officer Maney, says that Nico is the reason that she and Mr. Maney got married.

"I remember Mike came into the office for the first time and I didn't even pay attention to Mike, I just saw this beautiful German Shepherd, and I was like 'Dog! Give me this dog!'" she said.

Mrs. Maney said that she included Nico in her wedding vows.

"I literally vowed that I would always be there for him, and I'd always be there for Nico," she said.

Mr. Maney said people look at their pets as being family members, and sometimes even more than that.

"They're more than animals, they're more than family sometimes, and the unfortunate part is you have that attachment and you typically outlive them," he said.

Mrs. Maney said it was comforting to see how much he meant to the community overall.

The family currently has two other dogs still in the house, one is another working K-9 and the other is a dog Mrs. Maney has had since she was in law school.

Mr. Maney said there have been years of negative stigma around the police force, and having a K-9 helped bridge the gap.

He said going into a broken home, bringing the dog into the home can help cheer children up.

"He touched a lot of people's lives that way," Mr. Maney said of Nico.

Mrs. Maney, who is currently working from home, is missing him during the day.

"It's such a hole that will never be filled," she said.

One of the memories the family has with Nico not being on the road and working, is when Nico would put one of his toys in a person's lap and sit and wait until you played with him.

"People think of a working K-9 as this aggressive animal, but he was such a loving boy," she said. "That's all Nico knew."

Nico was certified in areas of training such as patrol tracking, building searches, handler protection, and criminal apprehension.

Mrs. Maney said Nico didn't want to retire. During the first few months of retirement, Mr. Maney would leave the house with his new partner, Jochie, and Nico would cry and pace at the front door.

"No matter what I did, I couldn't help the situation," she said.

She said even going back to his final days, Nico would still have moments of wanting to go to work.

"He was a puppy at heart literally up until his last day," she said.

Mr. Maney said the biggest loss for him is Nico's personality.

He said Nico was the jack of all trades.

Mr. Maney said he would get calls from other departments for Nico due to how reliable and confident Nico was.

"I was cursed in a way because the first dog I got patrol-wise was him and he set the bar so high, and checked off so many boxes... I was spoiled with him," he said.

"I just want people to know (Nico) knew nothing but love," Mrs. Maney said.

The Watertown Police Department K-9 Unit was established in 1976 by Officer Tom Dawley, and currently the department has two full-time dual-purpose teams, Mr. Maney and Jochie, and Officer Wayne McConnell and K-9 Ricky.