Stonington — Fritz, the German shepherd who was part of the police department's first K-9 team and retired in 2014, was euthanized Monday night.

Fritz, 11, who was teamed up with now Detective Greg Howard, had been suffering from health issues and the decision was made to put him down on Monday, according to Capt. Todd Olson.

A cruiser escorted him to the animal hospital to be put down and on Tuesday morning a procession of cruisers from Stonington and other area departments escorted his body to Westerly to be cremated.

Fritz served in the department from March 2008 to June 2014, going on patrol with Howard and making frequent appearances in schools and at community events. After he retired, he lived with Howard and his family.

Olson said Fritz was very effective in tracking down suspects and narcotics.

"It's a loss for our family," he said.

Olson said Fritz had a wonderful temperament.

"When it was time to do the job, he was all business. But if you brought him into a classroom of preschoolers, he was a big teddy bear. Kids climbed on him, pulled his tail, yanked on his ears and he loved it," he said.

He said Fritz's passing has been tough for Howard.

"He was a member of his family," Olson said.

The department had purchased Fritz, who was born and raised in Hungary, from a Pennsylvania kennel in 2008. On his first shift with Howard, just hours after graduating from their training program, Fritz tracked down a man who fled into a wooded area after a domestic dispute.

When Fritz retired, the department replaced him with Odin, whose handler is K-9 Officer Earl Palmer.

j.wojtas@theday.com