Meet Henry: Police Veteran. Cancer Survivor. Dog.

PORTSMOUTH, RI — K-9 Officer Henry C. Pappas broke new ground when he took a job at the Portsmouth P.D.

He's a little different than the run-of-the mill police dog, like say a German shepherd or a Belgian malinois.

Henry's a Chihuahua.

"We say it's a budget thing," quipped his owner Debbi Pappas.

Henry has been coming to work with her since he was a puppy. He's turning 14 on Nov. 11, and the job is a little harder for him now.

"It's tiring," Pappas said. "He can't sleep here," the way he would at home, she said. "He's always concerned about doing his job."

Henry's the inquisitive type and needs to investigate every noise. He struts out of the Records Office with his tail wagging to check on possible intruders. And there are a lot of noises at a police station.

"He's very nosy," she said. If anyone enters the lobby, Henry knows about it and he wants to see them.

She cut his work week down to just Fridays since the stout-hearted little fellow went through cancer surgery last May. (He wears a ribbon on his collar to show everybody he's a survivor.)

Friday, he came to work in his black-and-white collar and matching vest because that's regulation, Pappas, the police clerk, said. Although he has lots of outfits, his fellow officers like to see him in uniform.

He also has a badge and an official identification card. (The middle initial stands for Charles, not Chihuahua, though.)

Henry is the first dog for Pappas since she was a youngster.

"Growing up, I had a tiny toy fox terrier," she said, but with the family's busy schedule, she didn't have time for a dog. She didn't really mean to bring Henry home, either. She had a 17-year-old black cat, Sammy, known for leaping tall buildings at a single bound. But she fell for the tan with black stripes and white stocking feet.

So Sammy got a little brother.

Henry started going to work with Pappas pretty much as soon as he came home in February 2003. Then Police Chief Dennis Seale suggested the arrangement. He was the former animal control officer and had sympathy for the pets, she said.

Pappas knew Henry was unusual from the beginning, she said.

"He's very smart," she said, but also very sensitive. Pappas went through a bout with breast cancer in 2003, and Henry wouldn't leave her side.

"If I stayed in bed all day, he stayed with me," she said. "He was right there."

Some people ask for Henry every time they drop by the police station. The dog lovers are keen on him, she said, and they'll be looking for him over the next few weeks.

Henry's going on furlough, so Friday was his last day for a while.

He'll be back at his post probably around Thanksgiving, she said.

Photo by Patch staff