Missing K-9 back on duty in Madera. Here’s what’s happening after police dogs escaped

A week after two police K-9s were reported missing in the Fresno area, one has returned to duty.

A memorial is being planned for the other.

Both dogs were being kept at home with their handlers, as is common practice, when they escaped.

Both were presumably agitated by illegal fireworks being set off during Fourth of July celebrations.

Both have law enforcement agencies redoubling efforts to keep the animals safe and accounted for.

In the case of Odin, a 3-year-old Belgian Malinois with the Madera County Sheriff’s Office, the dog got out of his kennel in Fresno and climbed a 6-foot backyard fence to escape. After a day-long search, the dog was found at a home miles away.

Kona, a 10-year-old German shepherd attached to the Reedley Police Department, had been missing for two days when his body was discovered in a vineyard outside of Visalia. Police believe Kona was hit by a car before he died.

A memorial is being planned and could happen with in the next week, the department said.

The CHP is investigating whether a hit-and-run report will be taken, and Reedley police are investigating how the dog escaped. According to the department, Kona’s handler had moved to dog from an outside kennel into a garage as a safety precaution during the Fourth of July.

The dog was able to escape the garage and broke through wooden fence panels to flee the backyard.

The escape is not something that would have happened under normal circumstances, said Marc Ediger, a commander with Reedley police, and if not for the use of illegal fireworks in the area.

Still, “if we need to change practices we will.”

The department is also continuing to find the best way to do live monitoring of its K-9s, Ediger said. Kona did have an ID tracker on his collar, but police believe it came free when the dog got hit, which prolonged the search.

The Madera Sheriff’s Office is also looking to monitor its dogs and has purchased and will begin using tracking devices, according to the public information officer Kayla Gates. “Moving forward, there will be inspections of all kennels immediately to ensure they are secure, including a secure top (or roof),” she said.

“Long term, there will be periodic inspection of kennels by the unit supervisor.”

Both the Fresno Police Department and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said they have not had any incidents with their K-9s in recent years, but take precautions to safekeep the dogs.