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Handler – Deputy Richard Lundberg
Retired K9 found dead after going missing, investigation underway
Canine Haso, a former K-9 who spent four years on active service with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office and is credited with saving countless lives, has been located. The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office feels Haso was killed on purpose after he was discovered dead around 4.30 pm on Friday, 29 April. A criminal investigation is currently underway. The dog’s death was discovered around a half-mile from his owner’s house in West Valley, according to Capt. Jordan Haines, the chief of detectives discovered the dog after following up on a tip. As deputies could see, Haso did not die of dehydration or exposure. The Buffalo News reported, “The way he died is such that it would kick off a criminal investigation,” he said. Haso’s body was subjected to necropsy at Cornell University. Since Monday night, neighbors and even professional dog-finding sleuths have volunteered to help in the search for the missing K-9. Deputy Richard Lundberg, Haso’s owner, got concerned when Haso went away on Monday night and did not return by Tuesday morning. Lundberg resides among hundreds of acres of woodlands in Cattaraugus County. The search became more difficult as a result of this. To look Haso, ATVs, and trail cameras were deployed. Haso was one of the K-9s who retired after marijuana was legalized in New York State, compromising their illicit drug-detection training, according to the Buffalo News in January 2020. Lundberg and Haso quit the K-9 unit during a similar time. Haso was a major figure in the arrests of a parking meter mechanic and a substitute teacher in the city. The K-9 spotted a bag of cocaine hidden in a side air vent on the dashboard when deputies stopped the city employee’s car on the Scajaquada Expressway. The couple’s car had a half kilo of cocaine, 15 grams of fentanyl, and $7,500 in cash, according to the Sheriff’s Office.Haso’s abilities as a tracker were also described by Lundberg. The K-9 smelled the clothes of a dementia-stricken elderly Clarence man who had walked out one night. Haso followed the trail of the scent into the bushes and discovered him. “There’s a minimum of eight people who wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for him,” Lundberg said to The Buffalo news. Around 7.45 pm Monday, Lundberg claimed he let Haso out of his kennel and walked into his garage for four minutes. Haso was gone when the deputy returned. The deputy utilized his security cameras to determine what drew the dog’s attention and caused him to flee. Lundberg and his pals combed the woods on ATVs, leaving articles of clothing and bedding with his scent on them to provide Haso with a scent trail back to his house.
The lost K-9 was reported missing by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office on social media on Wednesday. The search was aided by a dog search group known as “Sherlock Bones.” According to Lundberg, they discovered what they think to be Haso’s footprints on Thursday. Lundberg hoped that Haso, a professional tracker, had just lost his way home, or that he was alive but injured or stuck somewhere. But the fact that Haso, a dog who had been in excellent condition on Monday, was no longer living was his greatest concern, he noted.
