Cardio Problems Blamed in Blaze's Demise

Galloway Township K-9 Blaze appears to have died of cardiac-related problems, Chief Patrick Moran said Tuesday night.

He explained that the office discovered blood around the heart, and has surmised that a tumor in his heart burst.

The conclusion was reached without conducting an official autopsy because it is believed was natural.

Meanwhile, at Tuesday night’s council meeting, Councilman Tony Coppola proposed holding a fundraiser for the K-9 unit to be able to purchase a dog that has already been trained, a proposal supported by both Moran and Deputy Mayor Don Purdy.

“It wasn’t heat-related,” Moran said of Blaze’s death. “Whenever we have to leave the dogs in the cars, they’re air conditioned and the windows are tinted. We also have a thermometer in the car, and when the temperature rises somewhere between 75 and 80 degrees, the windows drop, the fan inside automatically kicks on and the lights and sirens go off to alert the officers.”

Blaze died last Wednesday just after the start of his scheduled training session. At the time, it was determined heat was not a factor in his death.

On Tuesday night, Moran learned of the bleeding around the heart, indicating that the problem had begun in the heart and was cardiovascular in nature.

Blaze is the second Galloway Township K-9 to die this year. after a brief fight with cancer. Prior to his death, the department raised $11,000 through a fundraiser at J.D.’s Pub.

“The public was great with Sabre,” Moran said. “We’ll probably do something similar with Blaze.”

Coppola said that the possibility of a fundraiser was still in the exploratory stages.

To purchase a trained police dog costs $10,000, whereas purchasing a dog with no training is $3,500. No training classes are being offered, however, and Coppola and Purdy feel it’s better to purchase a dog that already has the necessary training for more money than to purchase a dog with no training and wait seven months before training classes become available.

It all depends on raising the money through fundraisers, of course. Council doesn’t want to pass that expense on to taxpayers, and there’s no money available for a new police dog in the budget.

The department currently has three K-9s, and four is the preferred number the department feels comfortable having. The department wasn’t expecting to have to replace a K-9 so soon after replacing the late Sabre.

“It’s devastating,” Moran said. “I’m a former K-9 officer. I trained all four of the dogs. I’m very interactive. I’m also confident the K-9 unit will recover.”

Moran boasted of how his K-9 unit takes top honors in certification trials every year. Galloway provides K-9s to surrounding townships after depending on other departments for K-9 cops for about eight years.

Galloway Township had a K-9 unit from 1971 to 1997. It returned in 2005.

“There’s so much more a K-9 can do (than a human officer),” Moran said.

Blaze helped apprehend a who provided a false name two days before he died. On June 5, Galloway Police were investigating a suspicious vehicle in a hotel parking lot. When the driver of the vehicle presented a false ID and attempted to flee, it was Blaze who apprehended it by bringing him down by his right leg.

“A dog will do whatever you tell him to,” Moran said.

Purdy also has a special interest in the K-9 unit.

“My dad was the first Galloway cop to have a K-9 in 1971,” Purdy said. “His name was Satan.”