EMERY COUNTY, Utah, July 27, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Emery County Sheriff’s Office has announced the “unexpected” passing of K-9 Deputy Mack.
A news release from Emery County Sheriff’s Office said Mack passed away early Sunday morning.
“Mack’s handler, Deputy Egan Smith, noticed that Mack wasn’t active in his kennel,” the news release said. “He rushed Mack to the vet’s office for treatment, where Mack passed away just as surgery on his stomach was beginning.”
Mack joined ECSO in January 2020, the news release said. After 10 weeks of extensive training in both patrol and narcotics, Mack and Smith became a fully certified team on June 24. Smith commented that patrol and narcotics work came naturally to Mack, and other handlers at training respected Mack’s abilities.
“June 29 was the team’s first day of patrol in Emery County,” the news release said. “On that day, Mack located narcotics during a traffic stop. The following day, he located narcotics in a vehicle which led to the recovery of multiple stolen items. Additionally, Mack busted a parolee who was in possession of drugs and located several other controlled substances during multiple stops in Emery County. All of these seizures were on streets in our cities and towns, not on I-70 as would be expected. In just four weeks on patrol, K-9 Deputy Mack and Deputy Smith made a difference.”
In Smith’s words: “Rest in peace Mack. Thank you for always being there and keeping an eye on me from the patrol car. You will be missed. I’ll take the watch from here big guy. EOW 7/26/2020.”
