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Port Authority K9 Crew Surprises Girl, 12, With Cancer

A 12-year-old girl with cancer who hopes to someday be a K9 police officer got a hero’s welcome from a group of four- and two-legged Port Authority officers when she showed up for treatment the other day.

April with PAPD K9 Officer Marianne Flores-Lopez and Donohue

April with PAPD K9 Officer Marianne Flores-Lopez and Donohue

Photo Credit: COURTESY: Port Authority PD

Three teams of PAPD K9 handlers and their dogs were among those cheering when April Quezada arrived at the Maimonides Cancer Center in Brooklyn.

Named an honorary PAPD K9 police officer, April received a plaque, a certificate and a unit banner that she could hang in her room.

She also got custom dog tags with her name on them, her own police nameplate, PAPD K9 shirts and other mementos.

“We hope she can beat this terrible illness and fulfill her dream when she gets older,” Steven Rotolo, the Port Authority Police Department’s chief of special operations and counterterrorism, said during remarks.

PAPD Police Officer Michael Pampalone from the Port Authority Academy heard of April and her aspirations from a former recruit, Bradley DeSalvo, an EMT from the 119th class who’s been visiting her at the center.

"April is an inspiration to us all,” added Maimonides Medical Center CEO Kenneth D. Gibbs. “We're grateful to the women and men of the PAPD K-9 Units who have made one girl's dream come true today." 

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