Sheriff Department's K9 Dies

County Sheriff’s Office K9 Zable passed away while enroute to an Emergency Vet in Tyler Tx. K9 Zable, a 1 ½ year old Dutch Shepard had been with the sheriff’s office approximately 2 months when he passed away. Zable came to the sheriff’s office from Hill County Dog Center after he was purchased using drug seizure funds. Zable and his handler trained for 5 weeks together in Pipe Creek, Texas before returning to Cherokee County to serve our community. K9 Zable was trained in narcotics and apprehension.
After working his shift on July 21, 2025 Zable and his handler had returned home. While walking from the patrol unit to his pen Zable began having a medical emergency. Zable was rushed to an emergency vet in Tyler TX where he was pronounced deceased.
Zable was then taken to Texas A&M University for a necropsy. Texas A&M advised that Zable passed away from Myocarditis caused from Chagas Disease.  Chagas disease is caused by a protozoal parasite, T. cruzi “kissing bug”. Chagas disease is most common in Mexico, Central America, and South America, though cases are frequently diagnosed in southern Texas with gradual northern spread of this disease. Young dogs seem to be more susceptible to disease and typically present with severe, acute heart failure. Some dogs will die suddenly without exhibiting any signs of disease. In addition, dogs can a be infected after eating infected kissing bugs. 

Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office was 100% reimbursed for the cost of Zable and the training by Hill Country Dog Center. I would like to personally thank Hill Country Dog Center for their loyalty and standing with us through this unforeseen medical death.