By Kathleen McWilliams
The Hartford Courant
WETHERSFIELD, Conn. — A police dog died Tuesday after being injured during a foot chase on the Silas Deane Highway Monday night.
Wethersfield police Chief James Cetran said Thor was 3 and had been with the department for two years. He had been trained by state police.
Cetran said Thor was tracking an alleged kidnapping suspect through a thickly wooded area behind Executive Square, a large apartment complex, and was badly cut by brambles.
According to Cetran, Wethersfield police were called to a Silas Deane highway motel on the report that a Hartford woman had been abducted and was being held there. As the officers approached the motel, the suspect took off on foot.
“They deployed and they panned a track and started tracking through the thicket and they actually came across the suspect, who was reported to be armed and per protocol the handler released the K-9 and the dog went after the suspect to track him,” Cetran said.
The handler lost sight of Thor and the suspect in the thick woods, Cetran said, but later a resident in Rocky Hill reported seeing the suspect in his backyard.
When the resident did not see the dog, police became worried about Thor and set off to find the dog.
The dog was found by state police and was bleeding from many cuts and was taken to the animal hospital in Middletown. The suspect was apprehended in Rocky Hill.
At the hospital, Cetran said, the dog was diagnosed with internal bleeding and was given a blood transfusion.
Cetran said Thor appeared to be doing better and his handler, Officer Nuno Martins, was called in to see the dog, but when Thor got up to greet Martins, he collapsed and died instantly from a blood clot caused by his injuries.
Cetran said Thor was an exemplary police dog who had made eight significant finds for the department.
“One of the finds he made [in 2015] was that he actually captured two burglars after a really long track after they had broken into a clothing store on the Berlin Turnpike,” he said. “It was such a phenomenal apprehension.”
Cetran said the department plans to do a service for Thor but has not finalized details.
“He was an excellent K-9 and an excellent team member and this is really hard for us,” he said. “It was horrific.”