By Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Ace
ST. PETERSBURG — The four-legged partners of canine police officers are more than that. Police dogs train, work and live with their officers. The dog becomes a member of the officer's own family.
So it was with Ace, the partner of slain St. Petersburg Officer Jeffrey A. Yaslowitz. The officer is survived by his wife, Lorraine, 40, and their children: Caleb, 12; Haylie, 8; and Calen, 5.
Ace is a part of their family, said city officials, who hope to keep it that way.
"These kids lost their dad," said Mayor Bill Foster. "We're not going to let them lose their pet."
Ace was in the officer's SUV during the shootings that killed Yaslowitz and Sgt. Thomas J. Baitinger. He wasn't brought out to help because the armed fugitive was hiding in an attic, out of ...