A Little Retirement Party for K-9 Ofc. Henry & Police Clerk Debbi Pappas

PORTSMOUTH, RI — The cake at the Portsmouth Police Department on Thursday was for two special department members. The occasion was the retirement of police clerk Debbi Pappas and her stalwart Chihuahua, K-9 Ofc. Henry. Pappas has decided to start a new chapter of her life in Florida.

Henry, Pappas said, really doesn't want to retire. He loves coming to work. They loved their jobs.

Both helped build support for the new police station. Henry even starred in a video to show people why they need new quarters. But Pappas isn't disappointed they'll never be working in the brand new building. After almost 20 years with the police department and nine years at Town Hall, she's just looking forward to mornings without an alarm clock. Plus, it isn't really good-bye. She and Henry plan to drop by the police station and visit.

For Thursday, fellow officers brought in special issue police cake. And yes, it was donut cake.

If you don't know Henry's story, he did give Patch an interview last fall. The joke is, K-9 Officer Henry C. Pappas broke new ground when he took a job at the Portsmouth P.D. Being a Chihuahua, he's a little different than the run-of-the mill police dog, like say a German shepherd or a Belgian malinois.

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

Henry has been coming to work with her since he was a puppy. He's turned 14 on Nov. 11, and the job was becoming a little harder for him. The little ribbon on his collar indicates he's a cancer survivor. So although he's in good health now, police work isn't easy when one has to investigate every sound.

"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 poke his little nose into everything. 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.

For his last day of work, he wore his K-9 officer police vest. But now that he's retiring, he won't wear his uniform any more. He has lots of outfits, but his fellow officers did like to see him in uniform, with the matching black collar.

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.

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"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. A lot of people will miss them both.