Missouri Department Mourns Loss of Beloved K-9 Due to Illness

Officers with the Cape Girardeau (MO) Police Department formed a line outside a local pet hospital to say goodbye to a K-9 that had been diagnosed with a fatal illness and was to be euthanized.

According to the Southeast Missourian , the department said that K-9 Dallas was diagnosed with an acute non-compressive nucleus pulposus extrusion which caused spinal failure and left Dallas in a constant state of discomfort and pain.

"Dallas could not walk, he quit eating, and it was evident he was in constant anguish," the agency said in a press release.

The department said that K-9 Dallas had conducted almost 200 vehicle searches, tracked 20 suspects who had fled from various crime scenes, and "was just as comfortable putting on demonstrations for local charities as he was searching wooded areas for armed suspects."