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Orem City Police K9 Rudy, pictured in action, recently passed away and the department is looking to replace him. Courtesy Photo

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Orem City Police K9 Rudy, pictured in action, recently passed away and the department is looking to replace him. Courtesy Photo

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Orem City Police K9 Rudy recently passed away and the department is looking to replace him. Courtesy Photo

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OREM — Two years ago, undercover Orem cops caught wind of a possible Mexican drug run that would be passing through Utah. Soon a suspicious car was pulled over, and Orem Cpl. Trent Colledge responded to the scene with his partner, a Belgian Malinois named Rudy.

“While the vehicle was lawfully stopped I ran him around the car,” Colledge said of the German Shepherd-esque dog. “Then in the trunk were three large barrels of marijuana.”

Police eventually seized 67 pounds of marijuana from the car. The drugs were worth about $440,000 on the street. It was Rudy’s biggest drug bust ever, Colledge recalled, though the K9 unit also was responsible for taking many pounds of methamphetamine and other substances off the streets.

As the drug busts make clear, Rudy was an integral part of the Orem Department of Public Safety, as well as other Utah County law enforcement units where he periodically assisted.

Earlier this year, however, Rudy’s career as a police dog was cut short when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. According to Orem Sgt. Craig Martinez, doctors found a large tumor on Rudy’s liver, and ultimately the decision was made to put him down to end his suffering.

The loss means Colledge is suddenly without a partner, which he described as a more emotional turn of events than he had anticipated. Colledge and Rudy began working together five years ago. Over the years they interacted daily and became close.

Rudy’s death also means Colledge’s family lost a loved pet. In order to fortify their relationship, K9 handlers and dogs live together. In this case, Rudy became a kind of family pet and Colledge’s 11-month-old son still looks for Rudy in the backyard.

He also did regular training with the dog.

“It’s an ongoing, constant thing,” he added.

The goal was to make Rudy, like all police dogs, as effective as possible. Rudy was a dual purpose dog, having been trained to sniff for drugs and subdue potentially dangerous criminals.

“These dogs are used every day to keep people safe, to locate drugs, to get bad guys off the street,” he said.

Martinez added that Rudy assisted departments in Provo, Pleasant Grove, Lindon and elsewhere.

“In just one shift they’ll generally handle a dozen or more calls,” Martinez said.

And Rudy was effective. According to Colledge most suspects, including one man who led officers on a chase before ramming another vehicle, surrendered when they realized the police had a dog.

The loss of the K9 unit has much broader implications for the Orem Department of Public Safety. Because Rudy’s cancer was unexpected, Orem didn’t budget to get a new dog this year. That means the department doesn’t have the funds to replace him. Martinez said a new dog can cost a department close to $11,000 because they typically come from Europe.

“They go through several years of training before they can be purchased by police departments,” Martinez said.

Though Rudy was not the only dog used by Orem police, Martinez pointed out that a reduced force means a reduced ability to catch criminals and keep the public safe. As a result, the department is reaching to the public for help and donations. Martinez said the Orem Department of Public Safety will accept donations of any amount,

To learn more or make a donation, visit www.orem.org/k9donation. Donations also can be made in person or by mail at the Orem Police Department, 95 East Center St. Orem, UT, 84057.