A VETERAN search and rescue dog attached to the Sabah Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) has died just hours after taking part in what would become her final operational deployment.
Lexi, a yellow Labrador Retriever who joined the state’s K9 unit from the United Kingdom in 2017, was found dead inside her station enclosure at 6.15 am on Friday. Just a day earlier, the working dog had been assisting search teams looking for a missing person in the Kampung Pulutan Membawang area near Menggatal.
Sabah K9 unit chief Calvin Joe Jeafery said Lexi had displayed normal behaviour after completing the field assignment alongside her long-time handler, Athur Anderson Walter.
Upon returning to the station, she completed her usual post-mission routine of being washed and fed without showing any signs of exhaustion or illness.
“She ate her entire meal and behaved completely normally after coming back from the operation,” Calvin said. “It was only during the early morning rounds that duty staff discovered she was non-responsive.”
Medical records showed that the nine-year-old rescue dog had previously been diagnosed with stage-two heart disease and a growth on her gums. She remained under close veterinary monitoring and was receiving anti-inflammatory medication, antibiotics and gastric medicine.
Veterinary authorities from the Sabah Veterinary Services Department are conducting a post-mortem examination to determine the precise cause of death.
Lexi earned widespread respect during her career for her expertise in tracking missing persons through dense jungle environments and challenging rural terrain.
