Officer Homza and K9 Chase guests of honor at Wilkes-Barre POWER!
Sep. 9—WILKES-BARRE — It was a wonderful night for networking at Cork Bar and Restaurant on Madison St. as Wilkes-Barre POWER! was at it once again, bringing people together for a good cause.
Thursday evening's guests of honor were Wilkes-Barre City Police Officer Joe Homza and his K9, Chase.
Homza is a member of POWER! and befriended the group's President, Bill Corcoran Jr., after guesting on Corcoran's On The Stacks Podcast.
"So, Bill reached out to me and said that he would like to do something for the K9 unit," Homza said, noting that private donations since the unit was revamped in 2016 have been key. A particularly generous donation from Motorworld Toyota actually helped to purchase Chase and fund his training. "Everybody loves dogs. So, that (donations) has really sustained the program for the past six years," Homza said.
Chase declined comment, though he certainly seemed to be enjoying himself.
Homza spoke to the importance of how police dogs like Chase can offer an ice-breaker of sorts to folks in the community who might otherwise be hesitant to speak to the police. "One of the awesome things about having a dog is that line of communication ... It's very beneficial for the police department and for agencies to have that asset. He (Chase) does so many jobs that are intended for him to do but then you have this unintended result of it where you get to network with people or do demonstrations for schools or talk to kids or meet different people. I mean the opportunities have been endless for us," he said.
Corcoran shared similar views pertaining to POWER! as a whole.
"We're here to network, build relationships, meet new people, and of course, build new friendships, too, and we have the Wilkes-Barre Police K9 Unit here with us tonight. We're glad to have them here," he said. Corcoran noted that some proceeds from the door will go back to the K9 unit, further establishing the communities blossoming friendships.
