Highly-trained K-9 officer goes missing, found in someone’s backyard in Pottawatomie County

By Kilee Thomas

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    POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, Oklahoma (KOCO) — A highly-trained K-9 officer got lost over the weekend in Pottawatomie County.

It took several hours before K-9 Onyx was found, not by a deputy but in someone’s backyard. K-9 Onyx was trained to track and take down the bad guys with a single command, but when a woman found the officer in her backyard, she didn’t want to move.

“I know they are trained to do certain things, so I didn’t want to set him off, didn’t want to trigger him,” said Cady Sleeper, who found Onyx.

On Sunday, just before 10 a.m., K-9 Officer Onyx jumped his handler’s fence, and an hours-long search ensued.

“We were worried,” said Lt. Jared Strand, who oversees the K-9 program at the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office.

The PCSO made a post, asking folks to keep an eye out but at a distance.

“He does narcotics, tracking and apprehension,” Strand said.

K-9 Onyx takes down bad guys and was missing.

“I had scrolled on Facebook and saw the post about the missing K-9, and my dogs started going crazy. I thought, ‘That is not a deer, that’s a very big dog.’ And then it clicked, ‘Oh, I think that might be the dog,'” Sleeper said.

Over two miles from home, Onyx was found wandering behind Sleeper’s parents’ home where her family hunts. Realizing what the K-9 officer was capable of, she quickly made a call.

“I said, ‘I’ll try to keep him here. I don’t want to try and approach him.’ He said, ‘No, he’s people friendly, not animal friendly.'” I said, ‘Hi, Onyx. Can you wait here until your handlers come?'” Sleeper said.

Minutes later, Onyx was rescued.

“He was so friendly. He just let us pet on him. Such a good little boy just waiting,” Sleeper said.

KOCO 5 asked what precautions the sheriff’s office is taking to prevent another scare. They said Onyx will get a new handler and will not be let out unattended.

Onyx means a lot to Pottawatomie County. He first belonged to fallen Tecumseh Officer Justin Terney, who was shot and killed in 2017.

Terney’s dream was to make him a police dog, and the sheriff’s office made it happen.

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