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<p>HANOVER TWP. &#8212; At 7 a.m. Saturday, Ado, the suspect-apprehension, narcotic-sniffing K-9 for Hanover Township police, will retire.</p><p>Ado (pronounced Otto), a 9-year-old Malinois, will spend the rest of his life with his longtime partner, officer Mark Stefanowicz.</p><p>&#8220;He is a great dog and has been very productive in his work,&#8221; Police Chief Albert Walker said via email.</p><p>Ado came into service for the township in 2009 as Stefanowicz&#8217;s second police K-9.</p><p>During a phone call before Ado&#8217;s last shift, <ins>a midnight to 7 a.m. graveyard shift,</ins> Stefanowicz recalled some proud moments with the dog &#8212; such as working side-by-side with Pennsylvania State Police during the Eric Frein manhunt and tracking a suspect in the &#8220;worst possible&#8221; conditions in 2011.</p><p>A lady was robbed at knifepoint at the CVS on the Sans Souci Parkway. Ado, in a downpour, helped the police track the suspect to a home in Wilkes-Barre about three-quarters of a mile, Stefanowicz said. Because of Ado&#8217;s help, police were able to get a search warrant for the home, recover the woman&#8217;s belongings and send the robber to prison for 10-18 years.</p><p>&#8220;I was amazed he was able to track in that weather,&#8221; Stefanowicz said, noting Ado&#8217;s specialty was narcotics.</p><p>He said Ado was asked to assist with a search in West Wyoming last year. During the search, Ado hit on a car&#8217;s engine compartment where police found 2,000 bags of heroin in the car&#8217;s air filter.</p><p>&#8220;His drug record is outstanding,&#8221; Stefanowicz said.</p><p><a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/665531/hanover-township-drug-raid-nets-500-packets-of-heroin" target="_blank">Ado&#8217;s final drug bust came Tuesday,</a> when officers served a search warrant on Diamond Street &#8212; 500 packets of heroin, along with cash, cell phones and drug paraphernalia were found.</p><p>Stefanowicz said the career span of a police dog is four to five years, but Ado has been with the township &#8220;longer than average&#8221; at eight years. He could go another six months to a year, Stefanowicz said, but the dog is starting to show fatigue on his hips.</p><p>Police dogs, Stefanowicz said, are not American-bred dogs. Ado came from the Czech Republic.</p><p>&#8220;We know their 100 percent bloodline,&#8221; Stefanowicz said.</p><p>When Ado was brought to Hanover Township in 2009, the cost was $7,000. Stefanowicz said his first dog, a German shepherd named Rikki, cost near $4,000. And now, an average police dog costs around $10,000.</p><p>Walker said K-9s are an asset to any police force and, for that reason, he has &#8220;already started discussions with our Board of Commissioners on keeping the K-9 program going with a new dog.&#8221;</p><p>Stefanowicz said in his 18 years of working with K-9s, he never had to physically release the dog to get a suspect.</p><p>&#8220;They would rather fight two or three cops than a K-9,&#8221; Stefanowicz said. He said the &#8220;mere presence&#8221; of Ado &#8212; and Rikki &#8212; meant that on Stefanowicz&#8217;s watch, a police officer was never assaulted and a suspect has never resisted arrest. &#8220;That just can&#8217;t be measured.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Officer Mark Stefanowicz and his K-9 partner Ado, who will transition to a house dog and live with Stefanowicz upon retirement. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_markado.jpg</photo0><caption0>Officer Mark Stefanowicz and his K-9 partner Ado, who will transition to a house dog and live with Stefanowicz upon retirement. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photos </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_adolastbust.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hanover Township Police K-9 officer Ado, retiring Saturday, is seen with the contents of his last drug bust on Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_adolastbust.jpg</photo1><caption1>Hanover Township Police K-9 officer Ado, retiring Saturday, is seen with the contents of his last drug bust on Tuesday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photos </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Melanie Mizenko</p><p>mmizenko@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Melanie Mizenko at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TL_MMizenko.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Hanover Township Police K-9 Ado to retire on Saturday