Thief River Falls Police Lose First Ever K9 Officer

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. (KVRR) — The first ever Thief River Falls Police Department K9 has died.

K9 Max’s handler found him dead in his kennel last Thursday.

It was determined that Max died from a disease commonly referred to as “bloat” or stomach flip.

The 10-year-old police K9 started with the department in the winter of 2017 and over his career was involved in numerous felony narcotics seizures.

He was currently semi-retired due to the recent changes to the marijuana laws in Minnesota.

The department is in the process of finding a new narcotics detection K9.