West Valley police department mourning death of retired, heroic K9

PHOENIX – A West Valley police department is mourning the loss of a retired K9 unit known for his heroism.

Buckeye police announced Monday that Ivan, a Belgian Malinois, died Saturday. He was 14.

“While I am sad at the death of Ivan, I am comforted knowing he was an integral part of helping keep the citizens of Buckeye safe for many years,” Chief Larry Hall said in a press release.

In 2013, Ivan was shot while apprehending a bank robbery suspect and protecting his handler and other officers on the scene.

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of retired @BuckeyePolice K-9 Ivan. He survive a shooting in 2013 and returned to work within 2 weeks. Here is our video tribute. https://t.co/Xdu9KBhmWD pic.twitter.com/Cz3sy9s2zv

— Buckeye Police Dept (@BuckeyePolice) November 19, 2018

He returned to work two weeks later and was honored with a Purple Heart by the Buckeye City Council.

In 2011, Ivan took first place in narcotics detection at the Desert Dog K9 Trials.

Ivan served seven years as a patrol and narcotics K9 for the department before retiring in 2014.

He lived out his life as a member of his handler’s family.

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