“I wanted a dog that met the standard of the one that I had before. This dog surpassed those expectations, I think this dog is going to keep getting better.” — Officer Scalzo



From an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review this week:

Jeannette police officer Justin Scalzo & Falco. Photo: Guy Wathen

Two German shepherds bound to the door when Patrolman Justin Scalzo puts on his police uniform.

But only one can join him for work in Jeannette.

“It‘s a hard transition for him right now,” Scalzo said of retiring K-9 officer Wando, a 9-year-old dog who worked the city streets for seven years.

Wando will officially retire at Wednesday‘s Jeannette council meeting. Two-year-old Falco will be sworn in as Wando‘s replacement. Both dogs live with Scalzo and his family.

With a grant from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund, Falco was purchased for $6,500 in May 2012. On Nov. 21, Falco graduated from training and has been on the force since.

Wando and Falco work as dual-purpose police dogs, meaning they are certified in narcotics detection and patrolling, which can include obedience, tracking and searches. They can quell an aggressive situation and make a scene safer for their human counterparts…


You can read more about Falco here.

You can learn more about Ben’s foundation here.