Officer Robert Pratti knows how special it is to have a family pet that is also a working police dog. When he goes on regular patrol shift, his law enforcement buddy goes, too, a German Shepherd called Buca.
At the April town meeting, Deerpark’s town board approved a canine unit managed by Pratti.
Working Dog
Pratti decided he wanted to work with dogs as a young man. “When I was in high school years ago, the troopers brought canines in to do a demonstration,” Pratti says. “And I thought that was just the coolest thing. So when I became a police officer that’s what I wanted to do.”
Buca, whose name in Italian means “mouth,” is Pratti’s third German shepherd and shows promise. Pratti says Buca’s skills are growing since he started working on the force. “He’s intelligent, strong, and has a good sense of smell.”
He has a friendly personality and loves people, according to Officer Pratti. “His best quality is his temperament. He’s very social.”
