The Knoxville Police Department has recently suffered the loss of two long-serving K-9 members, with the latest being the retired K-9 Zak, who passed away after contracting a severe virus. As reported by WVLT, Zak was taken to the University of Tennessee Veterinary Medical Center on Tuesday due to difficulty breathing, a symptom that swiftly escalated into severe double pneumonia. "After X-rays, it was found that Zak had caught a virus, and since his immune system was compromised, it turned into severe double pneumonia," his handler disclosed.
Zak, who had just entered retirement a few days before his untimely death, had started his service with the department in 2017. The sheriff’s office conveyed that by Wednesday morning, Zak was unable to breathe on his own, indicating that he couldn't fight to overcome his illness because of a previously weakened immune system. This unfortunate event underscores the department's reliance on the valuable, though often overlooked, contributions of its K-9 units.
Earlier this month, the department mourned another K-9, Barnabas, a search and rescue dog that had been with Knoxville Police Department since he was five months old. According to a statement by the Knoxville Police posted on X, "Our department is deeply saddened by the recent passing of Search and Rescue K-9 Barnabas, whose watch ended on 10/16 after well over a decade of service."
Our department is deeply saddened by the recent passing of Search and Rescue K-9 Barnabas, whose watch ended on 10/16 after well over a decade of service. Barnabas served on the KPD SAR team for his entire life, becoming an active member of the team when he was just 5 months old. pic.twitter.com/8CZ2TLU6Yr
— Knoxville Police TN (@Knoxville_PD) October 23, 2024
Barnabas played an integral role within the department, participating in numerous search and rescue missions locally and in the wider region. A prominent figure in the Gatlinburg fires and the 2022 Kentucky floods, Barnabas also graced television screens on Investigation Discovery, as WBIR highlighted. His handler, Candy Stooksbury, and the rest of the department will deeply miss the dedicated K-9 who was not merely a tool, but a beloved member of the force.
