A community in West Valley, New York, came together recently when a retired K9 from the Erie County Sheriffâs Office went missing.
Haso, a German shepherd, was retired in 2020 after New York legalized marijuana, according to The Buffalo News. The dog was responsible for multiple busts and saved at least eight peopleâs lives during his time on the force, Erie County Sheriffâs Deputy Richard Lundberg told the News.
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Lundberg, Hasoâs handler when the Dog was on active duty, adopted him when Haso was retired from Erie County Sheriffâs Office. Together, they lived in neighboring Cattaraugus County, on the edge of hundreds of acres of woods.
Occasionally, Haso would explore the local area and had a penchant for chasing small woodland critters, but he was always back for breakfast.
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Haso took off after some small animal and disappeared into the forest on April 25. Lundberg wasnât too concerned until he didnât show up the next morning, and by Wednesday, April 27, the Erie County Sheriffâs Office shared a post to alert locals of the missing Dog.
Lundberg and volunteers spent the next couple of days searching the area on ATVs, leaving out items of Lundbergâs clothing and setting up trail cameras. A local Dog search group helped out as well, though Haso was an accomplished tracker himself and shouldnât have had a problem finding his way home.
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The entire time, Lundberg said he had two fears regarding his Dogâs fate: That Haso was stuck somewhere or that he was dead.
On Friday, April 29, Hasoâs body was found at around 4:30 p.m. about half a mile from his home after the Erie County Sheriffâs Office received a tip, The Buffalo News reported. He had only been 8 years old.
After an investigation, officials announced that Haso had been shot by a local farmer who mistook the Dog for a coyote.
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âThat individual claims to have been defending other Animals on the farm,â according to the report by WKBW.
The Cattaraugus County Sheriffâs Office said no charges will be filed in connection with the case.
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âOn behalf of Deputy Lundberg and the entire Erie County Sheriffâs Office, Sheriff Garcia wants to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and efforts to locate retired K9 Haso,â the Erie County Sheriffâs Office wrote in a Facebook post.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.