Cop ‘knows why this has happened’ after K9 taken from family, chief says

WENONAH — The top cop at SEPTA isn't giving a reason for transferring one of his officers off the department's K9 unit, prompting the removal of the officer's dog from the family home, but said Wednesday the officer's wife should ask her husband for the details.

"Mrs. Galanti needs to speak to her husband," Transit Chief Thomas J. Nestel III wrote in a Twitter reply to four accounts. "He knows why this has happened."

A SEPTA spokeswoman reached by NJ.com echoed what little details Nestel shared publicly about the fates of Abal the shepherd and the dog's former police partner.

"Officer Galanti was fully aware as to why he was moved," Carla Showell-Lee said in a statement.

Another SEPTA spokesperson, Andrew Busch, told NJ.com there is "no indication that Abal wasn't being cared for properly."

The change.org petition to return Abal to the Galanti family has garnered more than 16,000 signatures as of Thursday morning, but so far SEPTA has neither changed its decision nor publicly disclosed a reason for the change, citing personnel privacy.

New Jersey 101.5 reached out to Nicole Galanti for comment but has not received a response.

Dan Alexander contributed to this story.

Patrick Lavery produces "New Jersey's First News" and is New Jersey 101.5's morning drive breaking news reporter. Follow him on Twitter @plavery1015 or email patrick.lavery@townsquaremedia.com.

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