Beloved K-9 retires after 8 years on the force

HARPER WOODS —Getting adjusted to retirement can be hard for anyone, but it’s even harder when you don’t yet understand you’re retired. That’s the case for Harper Woods Public Safety Department K-9 Kaiser, who still wants to head to work when he sees his handler put on his uniform.

“He’s ready to go. He wants to go,” said Harper Woods Public Safety Sgt. Steve Johnson, Kaiser’s handler. “He has to be told to stay when I’m walking out the door. It’s going to take time before it settles in and he realizes this is the new normal.”

Kaiser’s retirement was celebrated during a party organized by the nonprofit Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society in his honor March 14 at the AMVETS Center in Harper Woods, where the beloved German shepherd was able to see many of his supporters one final time. His last day at work was Feb. 23, and his official retirement day was March 3, when he was honored by the Harper Woods City Council for his service. At 9 1/2 years old — he’ll turn 10 Oct. 29 — it was time for him to start this new chapter in his life. The average working life for a dog is about seven to 10 years, Johnson said, and while Kaiser is still relatively healthy, arthritis in his lower back has slowed him down a bit.

“Now with his age, the last few tracks over the last year or so, his stamina has (been reduced),” Johnson said. “He still has the mindset to do it, but his body has taken a toll.”

Johnson, who was promoted to sergeant in April 2024, joined the Harper Woods Public Safety Department in April 2013, after about three years with the Highland Park Police Department. Early on, he expressed interest in starting a K-9 program in Harper Woods.

“I was always a dog lover, and I knew police dogs were some of the highest trained and most loyal,” Johnson said. “I knew there was a lot of work involved, but the reward was invaluable.”

Johnson approached GPAAS to see if the nonprofit might be willing to raise funds to cover K-9 program costs, such as veterinary care, food, equipment and a specially outfitted K-9 vehicle — all expenses the city would have otherwise had to come up with at a time when money was already tight.

GPAAS, which opened an animal shelter in Harper Woods in 2012, created a legal agreement with the city of Harper Woods circa 2015 that enabled GPAAS to hold fundraisers for the Harper Woods K-9 program. GPAAS Executive Director Corinne Martin said GPAAS would then turn over money raised to the city to cover costs associated with having a K-9.

“For me, it’s been an incredible journey having an opportunity to work with a K-9, to see their intelligence, the intuitiveness, watching them train — it’s made me a better trainer myself and taught me things about dogs I didn’t know,” Martin said. “It’s something I will carry with me forever.”

Kaiser was born in the Czech Republic in 2015 and was selected by Johnson at a training facility in America in October 2016, when he was about a year old. Johnson could see Kaiser’s drive, even as a puppy. After training with Johnson, Kaiser officially joined the Public Safety Department in January 2017.

Over his career, Kaiser participated on more than 500 calls for service in Harper Woods and the Grosse Pointes — which have a mutual aid agreement — as well as neighboring cities including St. Clair Shores, Detroit, Eastpointe, Roseville and Warren. His successful tracks led to multiple arrests, including a suspect who fled from police and was hiding under a box truck in 2018.

“We would have never found him if not for the dog,” Johnson said. “Even as a handler, I was confused about why (Kaiser) was trying to pull me under the truck.”

Where the suspect had hidden, he wasn’t visible to the officers looking for him.

In 2019, an intoxicated female driver who had fled on foot from an accident scene was found in a ditch with Kaiser’s help. During a 2021 track for a robbery suspect, Kaiser located a stolen wallet discarded by the suspect. While assisting another department in 2021 following a carjacking, Kaiser found a bag and a weapon that the suspect had attempted to hide in an overgrown alley, Johnson said.

Tom Price, a retired St. Clair Shores Police Department K-9 handler whose dogs were the late Axe and then Maz, trained with Johnson and Kaiser for many years.

“He’s had some great finds,” Price said of Kaiser. “He’s been a pillar of the community. … I’m very happy Kaiser’s going out with a bang.”

Price was also impressed by Johnson, who he said has the patience and intelligence to be a good handler.

“He’s a phenomenal cop,” Price said. “As a dog trainer, he’s great — he’s one of the best.”

The years with Kaiser have flown by, and going to work without him has been a challenging adjustment for Johnson.

“It’s been the best job in the world and before you know it, the career with the dog is at the end,” Johnson said.

Johnson, who became a trainer himself at the facility where he and Kaiser trained, is interested in becoming a handler for a new dog, should the city decide to get one. Being a dog handler is an around-the-clock responsibility because the handler has to care for the dog at home as well as at work, but handlers like Johnson say it’s worth it.

“Although it was a lot of additional work, it ended up being one of the best jobs I could have ever had,” Johnson said. “There’s a good feeling when you’re called to assist in any kind of tracking because you know other departments are relying on you and your training and tracking (skills) to find a bad guy or to find a missing child.”

Martin said there’s about $47,000 left in K-9 funds raised by GPAAS, which Harper Woods could use to acquire a new dog — something she said would be wonderful for the community.

“They’re a great tool, not only helping with crime (fighting), but also with community relations and deterring crime and keeping people and officers safe,” Martin said.

Kaiser provided a bridge between the Public Safety Department and the public, a way for residents to connect with the officers. Johnson said he did “countless demonstrations” with Kaiser at schools in Harper Woods and the Grosse Pointes.

“Still today, I run into some kids who remember Kaiser from an assembly,” Johnson said.

As a puppy, Kaiser had had limited contact with adults and none with children, but he has since been socialized with people of all ages and is a friendly dog.

“It’s been very rewarding, seeing a bunch of kids playing in a neighborhood and they see the K-9 truck and they get excited,” Johnson said, recalling often stopping on these occasions so the children could see Kaiser and pet him.

“He’s just always happy,” Johnson said. “He’s a very cheerful dog.”

Except, that is, when it comes to his cherished red Kong ball. The ball — Kaiser’s reward after working or training — is something he doesn’t give up easily, Johnson said.

Johnson and his wife, who live in New Baltimore, have a 9-year-old daughter and twin 5-year-old sons. Kaiser has a strong bond with all the kids, but especially with Johnson’s daughter, who was only a baby when he brought Kaiser home and who became the first child the dog got to know. Johnson’s wife also has a cat, but he said Kaiser and the cat “don’t pay any attention to each other.”

Johnson still does some training with Kaiser to keep him busy and keep his mind active. But otherwise, he’s just a pet these days.

“He’s just living at home,” Johnson said. “He’s going to vacation with the family a few times this summer and enjoy a relaxing retirement.”