One tough cop

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- There was a time when Nero could effortlessly jump over

fences, slide through closing doors and hunt down the bad guys.

But now, the Belgian Malinois, who has spent 10 years of his life as

an employee of the Costa Mesa Police Department, has a bad back and sore

feet.

Nero II, as the department calls him, is ready to retire, says his

handler, Det. Paul Dondero. He succeeded the first Nero and has been

followed by younger canine Nero III.

“Nero II is 13 years old,” Dondero said. “He has given so many years

of great service to our department. Now he needs to relax in his twilight

years.”

Nero came to Costa Mesa from a breeder in Holland 10 years ago. He was

trying to pass tests to get into Costa Mesa’s canine team with three

other dogs, Dondero recalled.

“All the dogs that tested were good dogs that were trained for police

work,” he said. “But there was something about this dog. Something

special. There was this spark between us from the get-go.”

At that time, it was not Dondero’s decision to select his dog, but he

was ecstatic when his supervisors picked his choice.

Nero has several special qualities, Dondero said.

“He just loves people and craves attention,” he said. “But, when it’s

time to go to work, he’s all business.”

When his handler commanded him to catch a bad guy hiding in the

bushes, Nero did it without hesitation. But when Dondero took him to

elementary schools for demonstrations, Nero happily allowed the children

to pet him.

Dondero was in the canine unit six years. He was later moved to the

narcotics unit as a detective. Nero moved with him. He went from catching

crooks to sniffing and finding drugs.

To this day, Nero has helped recover more than $2 million in drug

money, two tons of marijuana, two tons of cocaine and large quantities of

heroin and methamphetamine.

In his heyday, Nero was a merciless canine who was always ready to

work and never gave up till his master’s orders were carried out. He got

hurt a few times -- moments that would leave Dondero’s heart pounding

with anxiety.

“There was this one time when he was doing a residential search and

took a 12- to 14-foot fall,” Dondero said. “It really scared me to see

him take a fall like that.”

But Nero bounced back, completed his search and came back to his

anxious partner, blood dripping from his mouth.

On another occasion, Nero’s head was slammed between a gate and a post

as a car burglar on 19th Street tried to flee. But the dog slid through

the gate and gripped the bad guy with his mouth, Dondero said.

“He was missing a couple of teeth and had to undergo root canal

treatment and got a few stitches on his head,” he said. “But he was OK.

He was tough.”

Now that he is ready to retire, their relationship will change,

Dondero said.

“It changed a little bit when I moved to narcotics because I did not

take him with me to work all the time,” he said. “I really missed having

him with me at work. Now I’ll miss him even more.”

Nero will most likely live with Dondero in his home as his pet after

retirement, as he has for the last 10 years.

“My family has always loved him,” Dondero said. Even his wife, who was

initially scared of large dogs, developed a bond with Nero over the

years, he said.

“It’ll be sad not having him at work,” Dondero said. “But he has

always given 150%, and right now it’s time for him to take it easy.”

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .