It regretfully falls to me to inform our community that K9 Deputy Blitz passed away yesterday afternoon while undergoing a medical procedure.

Blitz was acquired by the Sheriff’s Office “9” months ago today. After months of training and being dual certified in Patrol and Detection disciplines, he was placed into service with handler Sergeant Ryan Kaber. In late spring, Blitz began to show some difficulty breathing after exertion indicating an airway anomaly. While this did not appear to affect his performance, it was apparent there was an issue that would eventually need to be addressed. The symptom of an underlying health problem slowly became worse even while Blitz trained and became proficient in tracking with K9 SAR volunteers. A month ago, strenuous training was suspended and an appointment was made to explore the health issue and determine if it could be medically corrected and if Deputy Blitz could still be used in a law enforcement capacity.

Yesterday, while under anesthesia for a scoping procedure, Blitz’s heart stopped. After repeated CPR efforts by medical staff and with Sergeant Kaber present in the room, it was determined K9 Deputy Blitz had passed.


While many of you likely never met Blitz or watched him work, the force multiplier and additional safety resource that working K9’s bring to our office is a worthwhile priority; this is a setback and a sad one at that.

Sergeant Kaber wishes to thank everyone that had been supportive of K9 Deputy Blitz and the team that they were… and would have become if they’d had more time to work.