The City of Laredo and District V Councilmember Ruben Gutierrez Jr. dedicated a dog park to Sgt. Denzo, a K-9 officer of the Webb County Sheriff Office and a U.S. Veteran, on Thursday.
Along with the city leaders, the Webb County Sheriff’s Office and Laredo Police Department celebrated with a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the aptly-named Sgt. Denzo Dog Park which is located inside the Jovita Idar “El Progreso” Park.
Denzo was born on Dec. 12, 2007. Due to his high intelligence, he was trained and recruited by the United States Army. A highly-trained combat veteran, Denzo served two tours overseas with the U.S. Army Bomb Squad and saved many lives.
Denzo was trained to search for explosives. He took heavy contact from rocket-propelled grenades and sniper fire, mostly directed toward him. He was always 200 meters in front of the special operations teams, and during his tours overseas, he found 20 explosive devices, according to the City of Laredo.
During the event, a plaque was unveiled featuring his biography to recognize his brave dedication to the security of the country.
Martin Cuellar, Sheriff of the City of Laredo, said he was extremely proud of having Denzo on his team and that he will be missed dearly.
“I am very happy you for recognizing him, and I’m proud,” Cuellar said. “My voice kind of cracks when I talk about him, because he really did a tremendous job. He was a very lovable and loved by many people in the community, but at least we have something that we can say, ‘This is Sgt. Denzo.’”
Cuellar emphasized the importance of having agents like Denzo in service. They save many people’s lives and are very important to the military, as they will go ahead and secure the roads and trails of explosives.
“He saved a lot of people,” Cuellar said. “He really did a lot of work for the United States Army. He was assigned to the K-9 Unit in Afghanistan, and he had a great career. He found 20 bombs and saved a lot of lives. He was very instrumental in saving a lot of lives, and we miss him.”
Cuellar said the idea to name the park after Denzo was from his daughter, Cassey, who is now at Texas State University. He said he was very excited by the idea, and he passed it along to Gutierrez.
“He gladly did it, and I am proud and happy that he did,” Cuellar said.
An agent named Gala, a female K-9, is now trying to fill Denzo’s shoes locally. Cuellar stated she’s doing an excellent job as she continues to try and fill the hole left behind from Denzo’s absence.
Meanwhile, Gutierrez recalled some of Denzo’s accomplishments and called him a hero.
“In the past, we were getting a lot of calls in county buildings and city buildings … with a lot of bomb threats,” Gutierrez said. “so when Sgt. Denzo came into the county, he helped us out a lot because he was an expert.
“What better way to commemorate a local hero and national hero than naming a dog park after him.”
The dog park will feature a shade structure, seating area and trees, as well as various amenities such as a water fountain, a bench, play items and more.
The Sgt. Denzo Dog Park also includes an area for small dogs and a separate area for large dogs to enjoy, so each can safely play together with pets that are closer in size.
“Once we started talking about this this dog park, it was half the size of what it is now,” Gutierrez said. “We increased it by more than half of its size and its amenities, doubled tenfold from what we had before.”
This park is now open to all of the community’s four-legged friends to enjoy from 7 a.m. through 11 p.m., and it is fenced all around.
“I invite the community to come to the Jovita Idar Progresso Park,” Gutierrez said. “It’s beautiful and really nice, with restaurants right by it. The family could enjoy it because we have swings and certainly a playground also for the children and walking trails. Please come out enjoy yourselves!”
karol.garcia@lmtonline.com