Bluffton police department’s K-9 Kato is on sick leave, according to Sergeant Tyler Hochstetler, his handler.

In a letter to Bluffton council, Hochstetler explains that on March 27 Kato showed signs of an illness.

“I took him to the vet because of his lethargic state,” wrote Hochstetler. The physician's exam, blood work and X-ray concluded that Kato is suffering from a pneumothorax (collapsed lung).

This occurs when air leaks into the space between the lung and the chest wall. The air pushes on the outside of the lung and collapses the lung. Most pneumothorax cases involve some sort of penetrating trauma.

Hochstetler said that Kato has not experiences any trauma, which left the veterinarian confused, adding that there are spontaneous cases that do affect dogs.

It is unclear if or when the dog will be allowed to return to work.

The healing of a pneumothorax is a slow process. However, Kato has been on a combination of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications to assist in the healing process.

“We will continue to see the vet locally unless his condition worsens. If so, we will need to take Kato to Columbus for further treatment,” said Hochstetler

“Kato has improved daily and will hopefully continue to improve with time,” he added. 

Kato background
K-9 Kato graduated from a month-long and intense training period in the spring of 2018 with its handler, Tyler Hochstetler.

Kato’s $17,000 purchase came entirely from community donations in the fall of 2017.

At that time Ryan Burkholder, police chief explained that there are five objectives for adding a K-9 unit to the department and the most important is to keep drugs off the streets and out of the community.

“The growing opioid and drug problem in our area continues to filter into Bluffton despite our best attempts to stop it,” he told The Icon.

Since joining the Bluffton police force, Kato has assisted officers by performing open-air sniffs of vehicles for narcotics, including marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and several other derivatives.

In addition, the dual-purpose canine has assisted officers in track and search for missing persons, track and apprehend criminals, perform drug, building and area searches, perform article searches and recovery and assist in officer protection.