WESTBROOK – Dave Thompson said he spent more time with his dog, Maria, than with his family, friends or even work colleagues, because Maria was all of those.

Maria, his K-9 partner on the Westbrook police force, died earlier this month after serving six years under Thompson’s watchful eye.

“I was Bill Belichick and Maria was Tom Brady. She knew what she was supposed to do and when to do it, and she did it well,” said Thompson.

Thompson said Maria, despite only living for eight years, spent every day “doing what she loved” as an “awesome” police dog.

A year ago, Maria was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy, an incurable, progressive disease of the spinal cord, and she was forced to retire. Within 12 months, Maria could no longer walk and had to be euthanized.

“It’s devastating to lose a member [of the force] and that’s really how we view Maria,” said Chief Mike Pardue, director of public safety. “You look at the dog as member of the department, they put in just as many hours as the vast majority of employees, if not more so. They’re here for 40 hours like the rest of us. It takes a unique individual to be a K-9 handler. They are, without a doubt, very dedicated, not only to the law enforcement, but to the K-9s as well. All hours, home or away are spent together. Maria will be sorely missed.”

Maria is credited with saving at least four lives in her time on the force. She was trained as a patrol dog, but also worked with SWAT and drug teams.

The dogs and policemen depend on the animals’ remarkable sense of smell, which is somewhere between 10,000 to 100,000 times better than humans.

Thompson said she saved a woman who had wandered away from her home, got lost and broke her hip. She also found a person who tried to commit suicide and a person with dementia. All survived, thanks to Maria and her sniffing ability.

Thompson and Maria were first paired together during training six years ago. At the time, Thompson was working with a dog that, he said, wouldn’t pass the final exam. He began what he thought would be an exhaustive search for a new dog that would have a better chance of passing, despite being nearly halfway through the class.

At the same time, in Austria, 2-year-old Maria was looking for a new home. Her original owner had just broken his back and knew the sports-trained dog could be very useful to a police unit. Thompson said since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, all dogs used on the police force are purchased overseas.

Soon, Maria arrived in Maine and was meeting her new owners, Thompson, his wife and his two children.

“At first it was hard. She came from one-man owner and she was brought into a family with two screaming kids and a wife. At the end of it, my wife would take her anywhere and she’d listen to the kids,” Thompson said.

The dogs, which cost $7,500 on average, live at home with the officers. In many other states, the dogs live at the office where they work.

Thompson said Maria was good at playing her duel roles: family dog and police officer.

When Thompson put on his uniform, Maria knew it was time to work, but when the family car came out, Maria knew she had the day off.

Westbrook has one other K-9 unit, Roxie and her handler, Officer Phil Robinson. Roxie was recently credited with saving the life of a woman who attempted suicide near Andover Road in Westbrook.

Thompson is training a new dog to join him on the force, and at home, ironically named Brady.

“He’s a good dog. He does very well, but he’s not Tom Brady,” Thompson said.

“I think I’m a big military guy and I’ve been a police officer for over 13 years. My two boys had never seen me cry until I held Maria when she was put to sleep,” said Thompson. “Not only because she was my partner, protector and friend, but also because she loved going to work every day and doing her job and being around people.”

Officer Dave Thompson and Maria, his partner for six years on the Westbrook police force.