A former "pound puppy" who gained national attention for his work at a Utah sheriff’s office for sniffing out electronic devices that often contained child pornography and other illegal materials has died at the age of 7.
"URL was not bred to be a police dog, and instead had a very rough start as a ‘pound puppy,’ and bounced through two different animal shelters and one foster home within the first few months of his life," the Weber County Sheriff's Office posted to Facebook announcing URL’s death.
The black lab retired from the force in January last year and had been living with his handler. He died on Dec. 30, just shy of his 8th birthday, according to the sheriff’s office.
Despite URL initially being deemed "untrainable," a rescue center in Indiana recognized the pup’s "unique talents," which launched him into police training and ultimately into the Weber County Sheriff’s Office.
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"URL was trained in the infancy of a nationwide program intended to include Electronic Storage Detection in police services. URL was only the fourth dog to be certified as such in the United States," the sheriff’s office stated.
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URL and his handler, Det. Cameron Hartman, were able to execute more than 2,000 arrest warrants together, with the K9 often sniffing out electronic devices involving child pornography and other sex abuse cases. He soon gained the moniker of "porn-sniffing dog."
In one of URL’s more "remarkable" cases, according to the sheriff’s office, he was able to sniff out a USB drive disguised as a key on a keyring full of keys. In other cases, URL found an SD card that was hidden on a high shelf in a Utah residence and a cellphone hidden in a book. He even managed to find a micro-SD card that was hidden in a baby jar stored inside a pencil case and hidden in a cedar chest with other items.
His work launched him into the national spotlight. The pooch was flown with his handler to Los Angeles in 2017 for an interview with actor Terry Crews and was featured on the show "Cops."
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"So many incredible experiences and opportunities that you brought me as I was just the guy at the boring end of the leash holding on for dear life. Thank you, ‘URL,’ for trusting me, for working so hard, for loving me unconditionally, and for being part of my family," his handler wrote in a message included in the sheriff office’s announcement.
URL’s cause of death has not been revealed.
"What a privilege it was to serve alongside you. ‘URL’ my heart is broken and still filled with so many memories and emotions. I am so lucky to have been able to get to know you and serve the citizens of Utah and its surrounding states with you," Hartman added in his statement on URL’s passing.
