Yogi

"Yogi" was born on September 18, 1989. Yogi's partner for life, Officer Jerry Nichols, had every intention of naming the Bloodhound puppy "Fred", which was immediatley dismissed by Jerry's son. Instead, the puppy was named "Yogi", which fit him to a "T".

Yogi's career was filled with many achievements to include the Alie Berrelez investigation, locating Alzheimer's patients who wandered away, finding escaped prisoners, tracking down robbers and finding the killer of a police officer.

Yogi was dligent in his work enduring the pain of bad hips and surviving a case of bloat. Jerry and Yogi worked 476 cases for more than 70 Federal, State, and local agencies in 8 states. They were instrumental in Appellate Court decisions in Colorado regarding Bloodhound evidence.

Yogi passed away in June 1998 due to cancer. The week prior to his death, he had worked a homicide involving the death of a police officer. Yogi was happy to be working.

ALIE BERRELEZ


On May 18, 1993, Alie Berrelez was kidnapped from the courtyard of the apartment complex where she lived in Englewood, Colorado. Three days into the search, K-9 Yogi and his handler, K-9 Officer Jerry Nichols, were called to join the search for Alie. Rain had fallen and hundreds of volunteers had walked through the neighborhood searching for the little girl. Yogi took the scent from clothing Alie had recently worn and began tracking. Relentlessly, Yogi tracked for several miles and at the entrance to the Interstate, Yogi headed up the ramp and began tracking down the expressway. Yogi and Officer Nichols were driven to each exit ramp until Yogi began to track down the exit toward Deer Creek Canyon. Yogi had now been tracking Alie’s scent for seven hours over various terrains for almost 10 miles. Yogi was showing signs of intense fatigue and Officer Nichols made the decision to stop Yogi for rest. The next day, Englewood Police continued to search the Deer Creek Canyon area and found Alie’s body stuffed in a duffle bag less than a mile from where Yogi had been made to stop tracking. The day after Alie was found, Yogi and Officer Nichols returned to Deer Creek Canyon in an attempt to pick up the killer’s scent and track it back to the source. The trail lead back to a neighborhood apartment in the complex where Alie’s family lived, leading the police to believe that a neighbor had kidnapped and killed Alie. The case remains unsolved.

MORE ABOUT YOGI

Yogi fit right in his new house, getting along with his 'brother "Gizmo" and learning how to share his toys. Yogi went right to work learning every day with his new partner. They worked hard and became a great team.

Yogi was placed it the K9 Unit in 1990 after being placed on a trial basis by one of the Chief's. Yogi and Jerry worked very hard, and Yogi became not only a good trailing dog, but he also excelled at Decomp work. Jerry and Yogi attended many training seminars learning something new at each one. Yogi even learned what rattlesnakes smelled like and that they are bad and should be avoided! He never forgot this lesson. De-Snaking is a great tool and it can save a dog's life. No dogs are bitten and no snakes are hurt in the process.

Yogi made many appearances and he loved to be around children. As with most bloodhounds he had the gentlest of temperaments. Yogi survived 'Bloat' and worked with severely dysplastic hips. He logged many miles in the work he did, yet never slowed down.

The above pictures are from Yogi's last active manhunt where a Colorado police officer was killed and another ambused.

LEBA
P.O. Box 190442
Anchorage, Alaska 99519-0442
907-830-7431