Spokane County Sheriff's Office K-9 Gordy passes away | News

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office lost a member of their law enforcement family earlier this week. 10-year-old “Gordy” was the K-9 partner for Deputy Scot Nelson for eight years. He passed away on Wednesday evening from internal bleeding from a suspected and ruptured tumor.

Spokesperson Craig Chamberlin described Gordy as a vital member of their office in a news release announcing the death.

During a K-9 training earlier that day, Gordy became lethargic and he was later taken to a veterinary clinic. He passed around 7 p.m.

Gordy, a German Shepherd, spent his all his years of service in Spokane, cross-trained to track offenders and detect narcotics. He was involved with hundreds of incidents.

In May, he was credited with tracking down a juvenile with a felony warrant who was eluding police in Spokane Valley. The juvenile was found hiding under some brush near where he crashed his car.

K-9 units are also members of the handler’s family - staying at home with them.

Chamberlin added in his release that “Gordy will be greatly missed by Deputy Nelson as well as the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.”