Brookland, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Visitation services for a fallen Brookland Police Department K9 have been announced.

K9 Bolo was found dead on Saturday, July 18, in his kennel. He was five years old and had two handlers: Officer Hosh Whitley and his current handler, Officer Cody Ladner.

“They had a very special bond,” Brookland Police Department Chief Jon Moore said of Bolo and Ladner.

“Bolo was a beautiful dog, absolutely beautiful,” Moore added. “Had a very intimidating look to him, but outside of work, he was a very gentle dog, very kind dog, very energetic. Just one of the best police dogs I’ve ever been around.”

Before Bolo’s passing, he and Ladner had started their shift, during which their vehicle, which had already undergone repairs, had its motor blow. Another vehicle arrived on scene for the two to use, but it did not have the proper equipment to transport a K9, Moore said.

Moore said Ladner decided to take Bolo home that afternoon, while he finished his shift, which concluded at 2 a.m. Ladner went to check on the dog when he returned home, and Bolo was “fine,” according to Moore. Bolo was found dead in his doghouse the next morning, Moore said.

No injuries were found on the dog’s body, and police said there was no other evidence at the scene indicating foul play. An investigator with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office transported Bolo’s body to the Arkansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Little Rock on Monday, July 20.

| ADD US ON GOOGLE NEWS: Click here to see more local news from Jonesboro Right Now

After a necropsy, the K9’s cause of death was later determined to be gastric dilation volvulus, or bloat, Greene County Sheriff Brad Snyder said in an update posted to the department’s Facebook.

Bloat occurs when a dog’s stomach fills with air, increasing pressure and preventing blood from returning to the heart in the hind legs and abdomen. As blood gathers in the back of the dog’s body, the total working blood volume is reduced, and the dog goes into shock, according to the American Kennel Club.

Visitation is scheduled for July 27 at Wood Chapel Baptist Church, located at 175 Dixie Road in Brookland. A law enforcement-only visitation is set for 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., with a public visitation scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“It has been a tough time, it really has,” Moore said.

| DAILY BRIEF: Sign up for the Jonesboro Right Now Daily Brief Newsletter