Died 12/29/17
Sheriff’s dog killed by vehicle
Dickinson County Sheriff K-9 dog Biz was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash Friday morning. Abilene Police Assistant Chief Jason Wilkins said at about 10:30 a.m. the department’s community service officer responded to a call of a deceased canine in the roadway at Third and Washington streets. Shortly after the officer’s arrival, the canine was identified as Biz. “Biz was a great asset to the community and he will be greatly missed,” Wilkins said. Undersheriff James Swisher said Biz was able to escape his enclosure when the locking mechanism on the gate failed, allowing him to be able to forcibly open the gate and escape. He was a few blocks from his home when an unknown vehicle struck him. Wilkins said no witnesses to the hit-and-run have been located. Swisher said in Kansas any time a motor vehicle strikes another person’s property, it is a reportable accident and a dog is considered property. Additionally, Biz was not a small animal and could conceivably have caused damage to the vehicle which struck him. Biz, a Belgian Malinois, joined the Sheriff’s Department in 2016 and was about two and a half years old. He was a multi-purpose canine trained in several aspects of law enforcement and had received his training at the Code Two K9 Training facility in Omaha, Neb.