The death of a dog is never easy. For K-9 units, it’s even harder. The inseparable bond between an officer and his partner is evident as they work. When dogs get to a certain age, the goal is for them to retire peacefully and with grace. Gunnar had been retired for only 7 months when he peacefully passed away.

Officer Gunnar was a K-9 unit dog that worked with his best friend, Officer Buhowski.

Work and play are basically the same thing to K-9 unit dogs. Not because they take their work anything less than seriously, but because they LOVE to please their handler and make them happy. It truly is the joy of their life to be out in the field working.

Gunnar was a special kind of dog to finish the training and fieldwork he did.

Officer Gunnar started his career on January 28th, 2013, in the Toms River Canine Academy. A part of class number 7, Gunnar then went and became a certified patrol dog! Even after 6 months of school, Gunnar was ready for more! On September 9th, 2013, he attended a different school where he was trained in narcotics!

“On September 9th, 2013 he attended the Toms River Canine Academy where he became a certified narcotics canine. While in training, K-9 Gunnar was one of the top dogs of the class and easily excelled at any task he was asked to do.”

Operating as a high-capacity K-9 team, the duo was incredible at doing their job!

Whether it was keeping Officer Buhowski safe while on duty or locating narcotics, Officer Gunnar was on it. Dogs trained for narcotics are pretty incredible to watch, doing things that a human would never be able to do! K9 Patrol says:

“A trained detection dog is not only able to recognise and distinguish particular smells, but they are able to discern scents that are masked by other odours too. What’s amazing is how they are able to do this. Dogs smell in layers, and they are quite unique in this way. They are able to differentiate between multiple smells and multiple ingredients that their nose picks up, making them extremely thorough when it comes to sniffing out target scents.”

Officer Gunner and his handler were responsible for locating and exposing multiple narcotic locations and busts.

With his training and incredible attitude, few dogs were as apt and able to do what Gunnar did every day. Through his hard work and sacrifice, people were safer and dangerous items were kept off the streets and never harmed people.

In his final moments, Gunnar was surrounded by people who loved him.

On his last day, Gunnar was given an honorable send-off by ambulance from his home to the veterinarian. In his final patrol, he was surrounded by people who cared about him and knew all the incredible things that he had done. As he took his last breath, he was held by those he devoted his life to protect. He went to sleep knowing that he did his job, and did it well.

Check out the tribute post below.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

https://www.facebook.com/tomsriverpolice/photos/a.728266897185029/3617018998309790/

Source: Facebook, K9 Patrol