New Police Dog Introduced At Vernon Department

VERNON, CT — Vernon has a new police dog.

Canine Franco was introduced Tuesday as the newest member of the Vernon Police Department.

Franco is a 2-year-old German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix. Officer Brandon Zawadski and Franco are in South Carolina training for the next 10 weeks.

In November, a group of Vernon residents and business people began mobilizing to raise funds for a new police dog for the local department following the unexpected passing of canine officer Thor a month earlier.

Thor, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix who served with Vernon Police Officer Bryan Sembersky for seven years, died Oct. 16 from medical complications.

The effort for a new dog was spearheaded by longtime resident Lisa Moody, along with Tim Poloski, Polly Schaefer, Julie Clay, Laura Bush, Patty Noblet, Kathy Stavens, Martha Cain and Russell DeBella. They quickly surpassed the $30,000 goal to fund a new police dog.

Franco now complements Tengo, a 5-year-old police dog who was the only canine for the department.

"Thank you to all that made this possible. We look forward to introducing them to the community when they get back," police said of Franco and Zawadski.