DENVER (KDVR) A German Shepherd that previously worked as a narcotics detection K-9 has been euthanized after reportedly attacking a Colorado police chief’s 3-year-old daughter, who later died.
When the Kit Carson County Sheriff and a deputy arrived at the scene on Monday, they found the mother and an unresponsive 3-year-old child in a backyard. The dog was not actively attacking, the sheriff’s office said, and was secure in a kennel.
EMS took the child to Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital, where she received care, but ultimately was declared dead. The Burlington Police Department identified the girl as Chief Nate Hill’s daughter in a press release.
“While the Kit Carson County Sheriff’s Office is conducting the investigation, we want to assure the community that there is no ongoing threat to public safety,” the Burlington agency reported. “This was a tragic accident and not a criminal matter.”
The Kit Carson County Sheriff’s Office said that the dog involved was a German Shepherd that had previously been in service with the Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office as a narcotics detection dog. The dog was not trained in bite work, the Kit Carson agency reported, and had been donated to the Burlington Police Department but “was not actively in service.”
Hill had been housing the dog at his home at the time of the attack.
The sheriff’s office said that the dog was taken to the Burlington Dog Pound and later humanely euthanized.
“This is a very tragic situation, affecting this community as a whole,” the Kit Carson County Sheriff’s Office said. “Please respect the family in their time of mourning.”
The case remains under investigation, and details about the attack were not immediately available.
