An Arizona police dog is being mourned after he was stabbed to death while he and local sheriff’s deputies were attempting to hunt down two suspects in an armed robbery.
Kenzo was going along with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department searching for the two men when they saw someone enter the fencing of a commercial yard Friday night.
The K-9 was let off his leash to go try and find the suspicious man for the department, authorities said.
Eventually, Kenzo didn’t return and the deputies became worried, finally charging in after him.
When they found the dog, he was lying on the ground next to one of the robbery suspects.
Kenzo, an Arizona police dog, is being mourned after he was stabbed to death while he and local sheriff’s deputies were attempting to hunt down two suspects in an armed robbery
Officials said that the dog was taken to a local veterinarian with ‘life-threatening injuries.’
According to Tuscon.com, Kenzo was eventually pronounced dead at the vet’s office.
The dog had ‘injuries consistent with a stabbing’ but an official necropsy will be performed.
‘We are saddened by the loss of K9 Kenzo and reminded of the dangers our deputies face along with their K9 partners who serve right beside them,’ the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
Cody D. ‘Slade’ Bartlett, 36; and Juan Tacho, 32 – the two suspects Kenzo and the deputies were chasing – have since been arrested.
Bartlett faces charges of armed robbery, aggravated robbery and killing/harming a work/service animal.
Tacho was brought in custody on suspicion of armed robbery, aggravated robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Dog lovers and K-9 units around the country are mourning Kenzo and thanking him for his service.
Kenzo was going along with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department searching for the two men when they saw someone enter the fencing of a commercial yard Friday night
The K-9 was let off his leash to go try and find the suspicious man for the department, authorities said
Eventually, Kenzo didn’t return and the deputies became worried, finally charging in after him. When they found the dog, he was lying on the ground next to one of the robbery suspects
Cody D. ‘Slade’ Bartlett (pictured left), 36; and Juan Tacho (pictured right), 32 – the two suspects Kenzo and the deputies were chasing – have since been arrested
‘Please keep his handler and Pima County’s K9 Unit in your thoughts and prayers as they grieve this tragic loss. Gain your angel wings and fly high,’ wrote one.
The Georgia Police K9 Foundation added: ‘May he rest in peace. Thank you for your service Kenzo. Our thoughts and prayers with all involved.’
Another, citing a similar recent instance of a K-9 in Tucson being killed, added: ‘Enough is enough,’ adding prayers for Kenzo.