Related Articles
Died – 1/22/22
Handler – Sgt. Matt Bosma
Sauk Rapids Police K-9 Thunder dies of cancer at age 7
Thunder, the 7-year-old K-9 assigned to the Sauk Rapids Police Department, died Saturday. His handler remembers him as a high energy, happy dog. Thunder assisted Sauk Rapids, St. Cloud, Waite Park, St. Joseph, Foley, Stearns County, Benton County, Sherburne County and Foley police and sheriff’s departments during his career before he died of cancer. His handler, Sgt. Matt Bosma, said Thunder helped officers detect narcotics, track evidence and people, and helped de-escalate challenging situations. Thunder was the Sauk Rapid Police Department’s only K-9, and Bosma said the chief is planning to adopt a new dog in the future.”He was always so much more excited than I was to go to work. It made it easier to go to work when you’ve got somebody who’s at the door an hour before you’re even ready to leave and he’s ready to go,” he said. “Every time we got out somewhere he was always happy, ready to go and excited to do whatever I asked him to and just happy to be with me. I was happy to be with him too.” Bosma said the department got Thunder from a breeder in the Czech Republic, and had him flown to the U.S. before he started a 14-week training course to learn obedience and patrol training, narcotics identification and training on how to track people. Thunder was a Belgian Malinois and German Shephard mix that “absolutely loved life” and his job, Bosma said. He participated in about 250 assists over six years. You may have seen Thunder during one of the many demonstrations he did for various public school events around the area. Although Thunder belonged to the city, he lived with Bosma and his family. “He was with me more than my family members for the last six years, because we’d go to work together, we work all night and then when I’m up in the morning he’d be out and would be with me,” Bosma said. Thunder could detect marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, different types of heroin and ecstasy and assisted in vehicle searches, Bosma said. In October, Bosma said he noticed Thunder became lethargic, which was out of character, and when he took him to the vet, they discovered his spleen was bleeding. After removing Thunder’s spleen, he was later diagnosed with malignant hemangiosarcoma, a terminal cancer in dogs.
