A brave police dog who caught many criminals in the north Lancashire area has died.
Retired police dog Kato passed away on Monday after a battle with cancer.
Kato, a German shepherd, was with Lancashire Police for six years from 2015 and 2021.
A statement from the Lancashire Police Dog Unit said on Monday: "With a very heavy heart RPD Kato’s handler would like you all to know that at 12.36 hours today Kato crossed rainbow bridge with his family by his side.
"He retired to his handler in 2021 after six incredibly busy years.
"He was diagnosed with cancer in June which he fought with sheer determination for as long as possible.
"A cruel end for this amazing dog but he leaves us all with so many happy memories and stories."
Kato arrived at the Police Dog Unit in November 2015 from the Prison Service and was paired up with his handler PC Sue Byers.
They completed their training in December 2015 and their first operational job was to locate two suspects from a crashed car.
Over the next six years until his retirement, he tracked suspects responsible for an ATM theft in Cumbria, located a burglar trying to hide under masses of loft insulation, located a wanted male hiding in a wheelie bin, held up the M6 locating a wanted male who had run from colleagues in Garstang on to the motorway and found a hidden shotgun stolen from a farm.
In 2017 Kato became a star on social media after he seized a man trying to escape over a wall in Morecambe, after which he was nicknamed 'Morecambe's favourite police dog'.
Many tributes have been paid to Kato on Lancashire Police and the Lancashire Police Dog Unit Facebook pages, thanking him for his service.
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