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Died – 10/26/19
Handler – Mastan Rao
Prakasam Mourns K9 Shadow
Mastan Rao breaks down as he says his final goodbye to his friend and co-worker, officer Shadow ‘the crime dog’, with whom he had been working as a handler. Prakasam district SP Siddharth Kaushal is also seen tearing up, mourning Shadow’s loss, in a video released as a tribute to the celebrated police dog by the Prakasam Police. Shadow, who belonged to the Belgian Malinois breed, had been serving in the dog squad (sniper) unit of the Prakasam district police. The dog passed away on October 26, after suddenly developing hypothermia. “Our family member had gone to Singarayakonda on crime duty. After developing temperature, Shadow was taken to the veterinary hospital where it was found that the dog had hypothermia,” Ongole DSP KVVNV Prasad said. Prasad also noted a long list of Shadow’s achievements and crimes where the dog played a key role, including the recovery of several lakhs of money in theft cases. “In the Darsi suspicious deaths case, Shadow was the one who directly caught the culprit,” said Prasad, referring to the case in July where an elderly couple were found dead in a pool of blood in Darsi town of Prakasam district in July. Police investigation reportedly revealed that the couple’s son had committed the murder to claim their insurance amount.“Johar to Shadow crime dog, who has brought immense pride to the Prakasam district police,” says the banners put up at the funeral. The video also includes older footage of Shadow’s feats, including jumping through hoops of fire, where this pride is visible in Shadow’s handler Mastan Rao’s face. “Even within the short tenure of its allotment at Prakasam district, the dog exhibited meritorious services and remained the reason for detection and nabbing the accused persons in as many as 8 theft cases and recovery of property worth Rs 30 lakh,” the video said. According to the Prakasam police, Shadow underwent practical training for a period of 8 months from August 2018 to May 2019, in the 18th batch of canine and canine handler course at ISW Mangalagiri in Andhra Pradesh. Shadow had even won a gold medal awarded by the DGP for an excellent performance during the training period. Reminiscing fondly about his colleague, Prasad said, “We’re all very upset, we don’t think we’ll ever find such a dog again.”
