Dirk, award-winning K-9, dies of cancer at age 10

Dirk was no ordinary member of the West Jordan Police Department.

He once apprehended a suspect who attacked him with a crowbar, and then stayed with the suspect until he could be arrested. He found 80 pounds of marijuana hidden away in a vehicle.

But the police service dog, who spent the past five years partnered with an officer, died Nov. 3 of cancer.

Members of the West Jordan Police K-9 unit are mourning the loss of the 10-year-old Dirk, an award-winning Belgian Malinois who had served West Jordan since April 2002, according to a press release from the police department.

Dirk and his handler, officer Michael Daugherty, made hundreds of narcotics detections and tracked down plenty of retreating suspects over the past five years. According to the release, the service dog was diagnosed with cancer in October and died from the disease within a few weeks.

Before his death, Dirk took fourth place in narcotics detections in the Las Vegas K-9 Trials in Nevada. He also earned top rankings during his career in suspect apprehension, tough dog, agility and narcotics detection.

— Lana Groves