‘A pretty special horse’ that follows in its master’s footsteps

This is a story of service.

And of love.

And the magic of a horse.

It’s the story of Chicago Police Cmdr. Paul Bauer, who gave his life last week in the service of others, and his horse Doffyn, a dark bay quarter horse that follows in his master’s footsteps.

Doffyn, a horse of “calm demeanor” which Bauer rode when he was commanding officer of the CPD’s Mounted Patrol Unit, now works with the physically challenged at the Horsefeathers Therapeutic Riding stable in Lake Forest.

Bauer named his horse after slain Chicago Police Officer Daniel Doffyn, shot and killed on March 8, 1995, by a street gang member shortly after joining the CPD.

“Thank you for mentioning his horse Doffyn,” emailed Judy Eftekhar in response to a Sneed column on Bauer on Sunday.

“I now ride him at the therapeutic riding facility to which he was donated after he retired a couple years ago,” said Eftekhar, a former client treated at the facility following hip-replacement surgery.

Then she broke my heart.

“Doffyn was unusually expressive when I groomed him in his stall Sunday, though rather uncooperative during our ride. (Bauer’s funeral was Saturday.)

“He knew. They always know.”

“But I didn’t know, until I was told after we rode,” she said.

“I then spent a few moments alone with him in his stall stroking his forehead. He was quieter then. Or maybe it was the apple he was pretty sure would be coming.

“Doffyn is known around the barn as ‘a real good guy,’ ” she added.

“Certainly he is tolerant of me. I trust he understands that now. Though retired from police work, he is performing a uniquely valuable service to those who need his help.

“Perhaps one day, some other real good guy (horse) will have the honor to be named after Cmdr. Bauer,” Eftekhar wrote.

Later, by phone, she told me: “It was a personal thing to me. Most people don’t think about the horses. They are very spiritual and help us in a dimension most of us don’t understand. The day after Commanader Bauer’s funeral, Doffyn didn’t want to ride much. He was a little more nosey with me. More interactive. I really sensed he knew.

“Only after Nick Coyne, the president of the facility, told me I was riding a pretty special horse that had been ridden by a pretty special man, I now see the legacy of service that comes from the police force through the police horses,” said Eftekhar.

“The police enable the horses to have second lives because of their training, and they are pretty steady. They aren’t shy to a lot of stuff and for riders who are challenged,” said Coyne.

A second retired Chicago Police horse also works at the facility: Riordan, who along with Doffyn are named after policemen who gave their lives while on duty.

Last July, retired Chicago Mounted Patrolman Paul Casasanto received a message via Facebook that his horse Riordan was being ridden by a client at the Horsefeathers facility.

“Oh my God, I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “The messenger made my year. I didn’t know where Riordan had been sent. I just started bawling my eyes out. When Riordan saw me, he started circling me and nudging me. He remembered me. I now ride him twice a week.

“And we visit Commander Bauer’s Doffyn when I’m there. I worked with Commander Bauer on the Mounted Patrol Unit for eight years. He was such a great guy.”

Casasanto claims retired Chicago Policeman Pat Riordan, the son of slain First Deputy Police Superintendent James Riordan, plans to visit his father’s namesake this week along with Chicago Police Sgt. Mike Cavanaugh, who once rode Doffyn.

“This is a love story,” he said. “The horses become part of our family.”

So what makes the horses so special?

“They give unconditional love,” said Coyne.

“Commander Bauer would visit when he helped judge the Special Olympics tryouts with the horses.

“And believe me, the horses are smarter than me!”

Sneedlings . . .

I spy: Gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy just returned from a fundraising trip in Florida, where former Winnetkan Susan Sullivan, co-founder of Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, hosted a fundraiser at her home this past weekend. . . . Today’s birthdays: Drew Barrymore, 43; Julius Erving, 68; and Julie Walters, 68.