K9 Maverick with the Suffolk County Police Department is being praised as “the employee of the summer” for his role in locating two missing seniors within the past two months.

Back in June, Maverick and his handler, Thomas Teufel, were called in to help search for an 82-year-old man with dementia who had been missing for eight hours.

Even though Maverick had already conducted an extensive 90-minute search earlier that day, the determined K9 was able to trace the scent of the missing senior.

“Maverick was able to find him and save his life,” said Teufel.

“That was one of my proudest moments.”

When news broke that K9 Maverick had assisted officers in locating the missing senior, the man’s 10-year-old grandson, Derek, asked to meet the heroes who had saved his grandfather’s life. The Suffolk County Police Department even posted about the meeting on their Facebook page: “According to Derek’s father Bil Xikis, who is a member of the Seldon Fire Department and Suffolk Urban Search and Rescue, Derek is a dog lover, and he has new heroes in the Suffolk County Police Department!”

Unfortunately, a few months after the elderly man went missing, a female senior was also reported missing from the local St. Joseph’s Senior Center.

The woman had not been seen since Sunday (August 9), but her door was left ajar with her personal possessions, including a cell phone, wallet, and purse, sitting in plain sight.

The woman’s daughter alerted authorities of the disappearance at roughly 1:25 PM this past Monday (August 10), and Det. Sgt. Timothy Romaine and Det. Luis Cabrera soon arrived to lead the initial search. After having no luck, the officers proceeded to call in Teufel and Maverick to assist in searching the wooded area behind the residence.

According to a post by the Suffolk County Police Department, K9 Maverick was able to track the elderly’s woman’s scent within ten minutes of searching, and the woman was officially located at 5:32 PM. “Within 10 minutes Maverick pulled me over,” Teufel said.

“He smelled her and we found her lying on the ground in the woods. She said she was lying there all night.”

Apparently the woman had left the residence at approximately midnight the previous night and had grown disoriented and fallen in the woods. The senior was dehydrated but in good spirits and was taken to the John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson for medical attention.

As a result of Maverick’s (not just one but) two amazing rescues, the Suffolk County Police Department is declaring K9 Maverick the employee of the summer!

K9 Maverick has been working with the Suffolk County Police Department for over three years. Bred in Europe and certified in criminal apprehension, evidence recovery, obedience, tracking, and explosives detection, Maverick started training with the department when he was only 18 months old.

“He’s a great partner,” Teufel said of Maverick.

“I’ll make sure he gets a good treat tonight.”

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Source: Suffolk County Police Department/Facebook, Newsday, ABC7 New York, The Huntingtonian