Department grieves passing of K9 shortly before his retirement

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office has always been keen to show off the prowess of their K9 officers, praising their skills and hard work. So no doubt it was a sad surprise when, on March 8, 2019, they delivered some devastating news.

“The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is sad to announce the passing of K9 Sage, on March 8, 2019. K9 Sage was scheduled to be retired from service in June of 2019, however, he passed away due to medical complications prior to his retirement.”

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A multi-talented K9

Since April of 2010, Sage had been a partner to Deputy Bruketta (who has since been paired with a new K9 partner named Kelt) – and he was a multi-talented K9:

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“K9 Sage graduated Police K9 training in June of 2010 and was trained in narcotics detection, handler and civilian protection, tracking, article searches, crowd control, area/building searches, and advanced cadaver location,” read the tribute post on Facebook.

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Sage’s cadaver skills were held in high regard and he assisted departments in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin as well.

Sage’s community outreach

Sage was well known in his community and he and his fellow K9 units often visited schools and community centers to teach citizens about their work.

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The department complimented Bruketta and Sage as “a very dedicated and hard-working team…”

They had quite a run!

“During K9 Sage’s 8 plus years of service, his detections led to seizures in excess of $650,000 and 11 vehicles. K9 Sage was instrumental in helping remove over $8,332,460 worth of dangerous drugs off the streets of McHenry County in his career. K9 Sage was credited with 43 subject finds through tracks, area searches, building searches, and at least 7 cadaver finds.”

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A social media star

Sage appeared on the Sherrif’s Office Facebook page many times over the course of his career, whether it was to celebrate International Dog Day or to show off his training routine, which included plenty of exercise to keep him in shape.

But Sage also got plenty of downtime and recreation, including trips to the Fox River.

Of course, he was also there to warn people to practice safety on land and water during the pleasant weather.

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A grieving partner

While Deputy Bruketta got a new K9 partner the same year (which is no surprise since human partners are also specially trained and Sage was due to retire), he was devastated by the dog’s passing.

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“Sage made me a better person in many areas of my life. Sage was so special and unique. He will never be replaced. He was one in a million,” Bruketta is quoted as saying in a Facebook post.

He had been Sage’s handler for his entire career up to that point.

A community reacts

Hundreds of commenters expressed their gratitude for Sage’s service in the comments on the announcement of his death. And other law enforcement agencies joined in as well.

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Thousands of people reacted to the post and nearly 2,000 people shared it on their Facebook pages.

The Sheriff’s office also thanked the Animal Hospital of Woodstock for their care of K9 Sage throughout his career, but they did not state a specific cause of death.

RIP Sage.

Be sure to scroll down below to see the original Facebook post.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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Source: Facebook – McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, WREX News

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