Pittsburgh police bloodhound K9 Cappy dies at age 7
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh police's only bloodhound, K9 Cappy, has died at age 7.
Pittsburgh police's K9 unit announced the news with "heavy hearts" on Monday. Cappy was recently diagnosed with an untreatable malignant melanoma that had spread into his lymph nodes, police said.
Cappy and his handler Officer Kevin Merkel helped find missing people and track fleeing suspects.
Police said Cappy was the centerpiece of the "Scentsational K9" program, which in conjunction with a local hospital and FBI, held events where people could bring their at-risk family members and create a sample that could preserve their "scent" for about 7 years. The refrigerated sample could be given to police to help K9 Cappy track them down if they ever went missing.
They also participated in Project Lifesaver, with Cappy's bloodhound nose adding "another dimension to this program, making it more robust and effective, police said.
K9 Cappy did a lot of police work as well, responding to about 65 after-hours callouts a year, helping other K9s track criminals and letting them take over when it came time for apprehension.
Cappy and his handler had been working together since early 2018. "K9 Cappy was an integrable part of our K-9 unit and will be sorely missed," police wrote on Facebook.
