Drug dog and former handler reunited after five years

Rick Dandes, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·2 min read

Jul. 3—SUNBURY — Shawn Fossetta, an officer with a federal law enforcement agency was reunited with his former K9 partner, Maya, on Thursday afternoon in Cameron Park, after they had been separated for five years.

Before that, Fossetta spent seven years working with Maya, a Belgian Malinois, from 2011 to 2018, Fossetta said.

Fossetta was first united with Maya in 2011 in a U.S. Customs Unit in Port Royal, Va. She was 2 years old at the time, "and we then trained together for seven weeks, followed by duty at Port Royal and Newark, N.J."

During that time, Fossetta said, "she was responsible for numerous narcotics seizures. In fact, one year, she was named 'Top Dog.'"

Fossetta also recalled when Maya "might have saved my life. In 2014, I had stopped on the median of Route 78, getting ready to leave my shift. It was 11 p.m. and Maya started barking." He then noticed some shadows behind him and asked two individuals what they were doing.

"I am convinced that had it not been for Maya, they would have done me harm," Fossetta said.

Maya will be 14 on Sept. 11.

In 2018, Maya "retired" due to health issues, Fossetta said. But when he took her home, she had trouble adjusting to home life, due to her protective nature.

Fossetta had two young sons at the time, and when they wrestled, Maya would react.

This was when Anne Yeager Gibbs, of K9 Hero Haven, in Herndon, stepped into the picture.

"Maya had problems with her aggressive nature," she said. "And she is overly protective."

Gibbs takes in "hero" dogs and since 2015 she has found owners to adopt about 360 dogs across America."

Sometimes these dogs don't fit easily into family life, or sometimes they are not great with kids, she said. Other times they have medical issues.

In the five years they were separated, Fossetta would often visit Maya.

"It took a good five years, but Maya finally started getting acclimated to relaxing. Now she has mellowed out," Gibbs said. "And finally we realized that this is the time to try to reunite her with Fossetta."

On Thursday, he took her home with him.