A Texas police department said a venomous snake bite during a training exercise has caused the death of a K-9 officer named Lenin.
According to the Baytown Police Department, Lenin was bitten by a venomous snake while on duty, and despite Officer Kinzie’s immediate action in taking Lenin to the veterinarian, the K-9 officer couldn’t survive his body’s reaction to the venom.
Lenin passed away on Thursday. The death of a K-9 officer has left the police department in mourning.
“He was one of our own as surely as any other officer in this agency is one of our own. For us, that means he was family, and he will be missed but never forgotten,” Police Chief John Stringer in a statement said.
His memorial page highlights that Lenin was the first K-9 officer of the department to specialize in explosive ordinance detection and served for seven months. The page credits him with the discovery of multiple firearms and shell casings during evidence searches.
During a training seminar in Alabama, Lenin and his handler received various awards, including TOP Bomb Dog, after competing against 75 other K-9 teams in February.
A Belgian Malinois-German Shepherd mix, Lenin, was two years old when he passed.