Chehalis police K-9 dies suddenly during routine training

CHEHALIS, Wash. -- Chehalis' police K-9 Reign died Tuesday night during routine training, and officers aren't sure why.

According to the Chehalis Police Department, Reign had an "unexpected medical event." Officers attempted to give the dog first aid, but he died almost immediately.

Reign's body is being taken to Washington State University where an autopsy will be performed to determine a cause of death.

"Reign was an important member of our law enforcement family and will be dearly missed. Our hearts go out to Officer Ayers’ family today as well, for their loss," the department said in a statement on Facebook.



Reign is a Belgian Malinois who has been with the department since 2013 when he was just 1-year-old.

"Reign and Officer Ayers were paired together and became a very effective canine team, working closely with the other teams in Lewis and surrounding counties. Reign is credited with multiple suspect apprehensions, successful article and evidence searches, and for alerting on and finding impressive quantities of narcotics."