A Final Farewell to a Faithful Servant : Kim, the Huntington Beach Police Dog Killed in the Line of Duty, Is Given a Hero’s Burial

As a lone bugler played taps and dogs howled as if in mourning,friends and colleagues bid a final farewell Friday to the first police dog in Huntington Beach to die in the line of duty. Kim was mourned at the Sea Breeze Pet Cemetery with much of the pomp and glory that would go to a human officer.

“Friendship comes in many packages--sometimes in a person, sometimes in an animal,” said the Rev. Harold Hambley, Huntington Beach Police Department chaplain, during the brief morning ceremony.

About 200 police officers and residents and about 56 police dogs from all over Southern California attended the burial.

As the mourners bowed their heads, Police Officer Jim Weaver, Kim’s partner for more than two years, lowered the dog’s ashes into a shoebox-size grave.

” . . . Because Kim dared to die, Officer Weaver is alive and able to carry out his duties today,” Hambley said.

Kim’s ashes will rest beneath a marker that reads “For Faithful and Dedicated Service.” Six other Huntington Beach police dogs are also buried here, but they died of natural causes.

Kim was stabbed to death while chasing a man who police said had fled during what began as a traffic stop. Police said Nick Spagnola, 37, of Harrisburg, Pa., stabbed Kim in the chest, neck and paw with a 4-inch knife after Kim tackled him. Attempts to save the dog were unsuccessful, police said.

Spagnola was arrested on suspicion of killing a police animal, evading a police officer and reckless driving. There are also two outstanding traffic warrants against him. The Orange County district attorney’s office has not yet filed charges in the case. Spagnola, who suffered dog bites and a gash in the thigh during the pursuit, is being held in an Orange County jail ward at Western Medical Center-Anaheim. -

Since Kim’s death, the department has received more than 150 calls from all over Southern California offering condolences to Weaver and the rest of the department.

Others sent letters and other items. One Huntington Beach doctor sent a $500 check that will go toward the $8,000 cost of buying and training a new police dog, Lt. Ed McErlain said. Nearly a dozen bouquets of roses and as many cards were received. One card was addressed to “Kim Weaver,” alluding to the close bond between dog and officer. A Huntington Beach resident drew a sketch of Kim that will be placed in the lobby of the Police Department headquarters.

Before he placed his canine partner in the ground, Weaver, dressed in the special brown uniform of the canine officers, expressed his gratitude for the support offered by the crowd.

“I’m really appreciative and thankful,” he said as he held the small wooden container holding Kim’s ashes. “. . . The citizen outpouring of support has taken me totally by surprise.”

After the burial, a procession of dogs and canine officers from throughout the county and also from Redondo Beach, El Segundo and Long Beach joined the four other Huntington Beach police dogs and two of Kim’s pups in filing past the grave site.

In addition to those in uniform, several dozen residents who called themselves dog lovers came to pay their respects.

“We had read about the killing of Kim in the newspaper,” said Carol Schaefer of Fountain Valley, who came to the ceremony with neighbor Norma Bistline. “We just wanted to be here to show our support. We wanted to show we care. We both have dogs, and we both have lost dogs. We know what it means to lose a friend.”

After visiting Kim’s grave site, Bistline visited the grave of Snoopy, which had been her pet.

“He died 10 years ago last week,” she said looking somber.

After the ceremony, Weaver spoke about Kim’s ability to perform tasks human officers would be reluctant to do. Weaver said Kim was involved in about a dozen apprehensions but that he particularly recalled the time five auto theft suspects had holed up in a house: “We put him by the front door, and he started barking,” Weaver said. “They came out. We asked why they came out, and they said they didn’t want to deal with the dog.”

Weaver said that he could not recall such an outpouring of support for the bereaved. A close colleague was killed during Weaver’s days at the Los Angeles Police Depertment two decades ago, but “I got more support here,” he said.

As Weaver talked quietly near the Sea Breeze caretaker’s office, a stream of others in uniform, Police Chief Ronald E. Lowenberg among them, came by to give him their condolences.

“I miss the dog, but I still have to function,” Weaver said.