A City of Middletown, N.Y. police dog died Tuesday after collapsing during training.
K-9 Axe and his handler, Officer Michael McDonald, were training at the Orange County Sheriff's Office K-9 Training Center when the incident occurred, according to The Record-Herald.
Officials said that the paid had just completed training when Axe passed out and went into cardiac arrest. He was rushed to a veterinary hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Axe and McDonald started training academy in March and were due to graduate July 11.
Lt. John Ewanciw said that Axe was excelling in all aspects of the training and had never had any problems before. The dog's death did not appear to be heat-related.
"Many of you have been calling because you may have heard lights and sirens for miles this afternoon. It was our officers attempting to get our newest K9 member, Axe, to his vet during a medical emergency while training," the department wrote on its Facebook page. "We relay to you that the efforts to regain consciousness were not successful and Axe has passed away. We are deeply saddened by this loss and thank you for your support."
