UPDATE Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017
The Bell County Sheriff's Department will hold a memorial service for a K-9 officer that was killed in the line of duty after being hit by a car.
A memorial service for K-9 Kane is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 14 at 12:30 p.m. The service will be at the Brooks Durham Funeral Home on Kentucky Avenue in Pineville.
ORIGINAL STORY Posted Monday, Dec. 4, 2017
A Kentucky sheriff's department is mourning the loss of a K-9 officer that was hit by a car while on duty.
According to the Bell County Sheriff's Department, Officer James Taulbee and K-9 Kane were called in to assist the Kentucky State Police on a traffic stop on US 25E on Sunday.
Kane discovered several baggies containing a clear crystal rock like substance, a green leafy substance, digital scales, several glass smoking pipes, and various items or drug paraphernalia.
To reward him for his successful find, Deputy Taulbee rewarded Kane with his ball, but the ball bounced off the dog's nose and into the road. Kane lunged after the ball and was hit by an oncoming car.
He was rushed to a veterinarian, but he couldn't be saved.
Sheriff Mitch Williams placed Deputy James Taulbee on paid leave for the next few days.
Sheriff Williams stresses that the bond between handler and K-9 goes above and beyond what many realize as both depend on each other in the worst of times, according to a post on the department's Facebook page.
"Kane will be sorely missed. K-9 Kane played more than just a vital role in the department as in the Methamphetamine discovery on Saturday December 2nd and the discovery on Sunday, he was an officer of the Bell County Sheriff’s Department," he said.