Related Articles
Died – 9/25/21
Handler – Cpl. Sean Peterson
Pocatello police mourn loss of K9 Dex
The Pocatello Police Department is mourning the loss of one of its own: a K9 who was instrumental in the seizure of numerous illegal narcotics and the apprehension of several dangerous criminals during his five years with the department. K9 Dex, a 7-year-old male Belgian Malinois from Holland, died on Saturday after being diagnosed with an aggressive and advanced illness that was recently discovered during a routine checkup, according to Pocatello Police Department officials. “It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye today to K9 Dex,” the police department posted on its Facebook page on Saturday. “We would like to thank the staff at Alpine Animal Hospital for their care of K9 Dex. K9 Dex End of Watch September 25, 2021.” Dex joined the police department in late 2016 and he and his handler, Cpl. Sean Peterson, finished their training and certification in early 2017. “Dex was an extremely energetic, intelligent, driven, playful, and hardworking dog,” Peterson wrote in an email response to the Journal. “He was always excited to come to work and loved to play. Dex always aimed to please and would do anything to get to play with a toy.” And he was good at what he did. Dex, a dual-purpose dog trained in narcotics detection and apprehension, was deployed more than 460 times during his time with the police department. Peterson said the K9 made a big difference in his work. “Dex was often used for open-air sniffs on vehicles that were stopped for traffic violations. This resulted in the seizure of large quantities of dangerous narcotics,” Peterson wrote. “Dex also made a huge difference when it came to apprehending violent offenders. Dex was deployed several times but oftentimes his mere presence or barking was enough to get the offender to give themselves up without incident. This is huge to officer safety and saved myself as well as several other officers from having to go into potentially dangerous situations.” Peterson recalled a rewarding incident during the summer of 2020 in which Dex was able to locate and apprehend a kidnapping suspect in American Falls, which assisted in the safe return of a child. Peterson believes Dex’s efforts over the years helped keep officers and the community safer. “Dex also made a huge difference in my work when it came to community relations. On several occasions, I was approached by members of the community wanting to meet or know about Dex,” Peterson wrote. “This became a great opportunity for me to get to know members of the community and be able to teach them about aspects of law enforcement that they may not have been aware of otherwise.” Peterson says he and Dex, who became a part of his family, shared a special bond and he’s felt “crushed” by the K9’s passing. “Dex was with me every day at work and then every day when we went home. I spent more time with Dex than with my family and friends,” Peterson wrote. He continued: “Dex always had the ability to put a smile on my face with his fun-loving personality. It has been extremely difficult over the last few days going to work and not having him in the car with me or going into my backyard and not seeing him running around. Most of my daily routines both at home and at work included Dex. Now that he is gone it has been hard to get back to daily life.” Peterson says he’s grateful for all of the love and support he’s received from family, friends, co-workers and Alpine Animal Hospital staff in recent days. “Alpine showed so much compassion for Dex and I during the whole process,” Peterson wrote. “Alpine treated Dex with the respect that he truly deserved for the work he did for this department and this community.” Dex is the second K9 that the police department has lost in the past year. Bart, a Dutch Shepherd, unexpectedly died on Nov. 29, 2020, while on duty.
