One Hudson Valley police department is honoring an officer's memory by re-establishing something special.

Back on June 7, 2018, the Carmel Police Department lost one of its own in a tragic off-duty motorcycle accident. Officer Gary Pietropaolo was a young and promising police officer who was full of energy and exuded genuine passion for his profession according to the police department.

When the department lost Gary, many weren't sure how they could honor him in an acceptable manner.

Carmel Police Department/Facebook
Carmel Police Department/Facebook
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Carmel Police Re-Establish K9 Unit

To honor Gary and his passion for being a police officer, the Carmel Police Department has announced that they have restarted its K9 patrol. Back in December, the department said that since officer Pietropaolo passed, the department has hired many incredible young new officers with many of the new officers reminding them of Pietropaolo.

One of those officers is Officer Vincent DeSantola, whose goal in the department was to become a K-9 officer. The only problem at the time was that the department didn't have a K9 unit anymore according to Patch.

Officer DeSantola has always had a love for dogs and appreciated their contribution to police work so he thought the department should bring a K9 unit back into the area.

SEE ALSO: Alleged Severely Neglectful Dog Owner Arrested in Putnam County

Armed with his passion for dogs and how they could help the department, DeSantola approached the Carmel Town Board to ask if they could re-establish the Carmel PD K-9 unit. Thankfully, the Police Department and the town board agreed and the K9 unit was in motion.

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Gary Pietropaolo Sr.

As the plans to re-establish the K9 unit became public, Gary Pietropaolo Sr., the father of deceased officer Pietropaolo became aware and was eager to help. Pietropaolo Sr. is an expert police dog handler and trainer who helped to guide DeSantola through the process of picking out a dog and guided him through the many steps it takes to train the dog.

Carmel Police Department/Facebook
Carmel Police Department/Facebook
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K9 Officer Pietro

Once the training was completed at the K9 Police Academy in Yonkers, NY, the Carmel Police Department announced that its newest rookie, PIETRO is officially on the job. The K9's name "Pietro" was given in memory of Gary Pietropaolo. Pietro joined his squad officially on December 14th.

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Meet the 8 K9s of the Orange County Sheriff's Office

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