The K9 who was taken from his family after his handler, Officer Richard Galanti of the SEPTA Transit Police Department, was reassigned, will now be allowed to live with Galanti’s family. According to CBS Philadelphia, though SEPTA was initially adamant that the dog, Abal, would be assigned to a new handler, the decision has since been reversed.

On Friday, SEPTA issued a release about the controversial separation:

When SEPTA Transit Police K9 Abal began training with his new handler, it was noticed that he was having some difficulties physically performing his duties. A subsequent evaluation by doctors at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital revealed that he has a degenerative bulging disc in his back. Abal has been treated by the doctors, and is resting comfortably.

Due to the strenuous nature of the work required of a dual-purpose explosive detection and patrol K9, SEPTA, in consultation with the doctors at Penn, today made the decision to retire Abal from active duty. As a pet, Abal should have a healthy future ahead of him, and SEPTA is grateful for his service over the last five years. Abal will be made available for adoption to the family of his former handler, Ofc. Richard Galanti.

The Galanti family had a tremendous amount of support from the public, who backed their desire to keep Abal in the home where he had lived for five years. A petition asking that the K9 be allowed to remain with his family garnered over 168,000 signatures.

Prior article about K9 Abal’s situation can be found here.

More news and updates at the National Animal News Facebook page.

A police K9 is dead following an accident with a man who was arrested for felony DUI, reported ABC 4 News.  K9 Mojo and his partner were in a North Charleston Police Department cruiser, while en route to a burglary call, when they were struck by a vehicle driven by 37-year-old Richard Shore on Thursday night.

On Friday, the North Charleston Police Department alerted Facebook followers that the grievously injured K9 had passed away during the night:

K-9 MOJO passed away overnight as a result of a collision that he and his handler K9 VanAusdal were in. Officer VanAusdal was responding to a call of a burglary in process.

Mojo’s partner, Officer VanAusdal, was seriously injured in the accident; he was taken to MUSC for treatment. Mojo had served with the police department for over five years. Chief Reggie Burgess commented on the tragedy:

“I ask that each of you keep the families of our beloved Brothers MacCluen and K9 MOJO in your thoughts and prayers. And we pray for a full and speedy recovery for PFC VanAusdal. You can rest assured that the department, as well as the city, will be there for them during this difficult time.”

The department was struck by two separate tragedies on the same day – Ryan MacCluen, an off-duty officer who had been with the department since August 2016, was killed in Summerville after a vehicle struck him while he was riding a motorcycle.

(Screenshot of booking photo ABC 4 News)

More news and updates on the National Animal News Facebook page

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A family has been torn apart after a police K9 was taken from the only family that he has ever known. The fractured family took place after Steve Patterson’s November 6 resignation from his position as the chief of police for the village of Camp Point in Illinois.

Patterson intended to pay for his K9 partner, Poseidon, but that option was pulled from the table.  Camp Point Mayor Jerry Gunn stated that the dog was city property and told Herald-Whig’s news-gathering partners at WGEM, “at some point we had to take control. You don’t just give away village property.”

After Poseidon was taken from his family, Patterson wrote a post to Facebook:

“POSEIDON HAS BEEN RIPPED FROM HIS FAMILY. Our family’s hearts have been forever broken, my kids are crying so hard right now. They had the Quincy Police Department come pick up Poseidon. Some things are completely UNFORGIVABLE. I have offered to pay full price for Poseidon AND pay for a new dog but they have elected to come take him away from his family. Poseidon has never spent a night outside or in a kennel while with me. I cant imagine what is going through Poseidon’s mind. Please share so everyone can see what these people have done.”

Since that time, a petition has been created asking for the city to allow Poseidon to be purchased by the Patterson family – according to the petition, not only is the value of the dog intended to be paid, but also, training for a new police K9 (click here to read more and sign).

A fundraiser to help cover expenses for K9 Poseidon can be found at this link.

More news and updates at the National Animal News Facebook page

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The last call has been made for a police K9 who died days after falling four stories from a parking garage. The German shepherd, named Argo, was a K9 with Missouri’s Normandy Police Department.

According to the Department, K9 Argo suffered serious injuries when he slid during a hailstorm and fell from a parking garage on November 5. The fall broke one of Argo’s legs, his ribs, and chipped a vertebrae, in addition to causing significant bruising. Initially, though Argo was seriously injured in the fall, his veterinary team was optimistic that he would make a full recovery.

In fact, shortly before he passed away, it appeared that Argo was turning the corner and doing much better. On Tuesday night, the Normandy Police Department broke the tragic news of Argo’s unexpected passing to Facebook followers:

It is with regret that the Normandy Police Department announces the sudden and unforeseen passing of Normandy Police Canine Officer Argo this evening.

We were notified that Argo took an unexpected turn for the worst, going into cardiac arrest. We ask for your thoughts and prayers for his handler Officer Miller and his family at this difficult time.

Rest in peace Argo.

More news and updates at the National Animal News Facebook page

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Did you know that if you want to get updates from a Facebook page, you need to do more than “like” it? To get recent postings in your Facebook feed, you must also hover your mouse over the word “following” and then click “see first” from the drop-down menu. You may want to check back with your favorite pages on occasion because Facebook often changes your settings, no longer having your favorites among those to “see first.”

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