Missing Avondale K-9 officer located after overnight search

GOODYEAR, AZ — Avondale police say a missing department K-9 officer has been located after an overnight search for the dog.

The department tweeted that the dog, named "Rico," was found just before 9 a.m. Monday morning near Litchfield and Main in Avondale.

The K-9 was reportedly spotted by a passer-by who happened to be an off-duty K-9 handler.

The handler was able to bring in Rico, according to police.

Officials say the K-9 has been reunited with his handler and is heading to the vet to be checked out.

The dog originally got away from his handler's home.

The Goodyear Police Department is now investigating whether Rico was involved in a dog bite that happened around the time he went missing.

Goodyear PD tells ABC15 the description of the dog involved in the bite incident matches Rico's description. Officials also say the bite happened around the same time Rico went missing.

The bite was reported in the area of 161 Street, just south of Lower Buckeye Parkway. The Rabies Animal Control (RAC) is taking over the investigation.

Given the situation, we wanted to get some perspective on how K9s typically behave when they're on and off the clock. So, we reached out to K9 expert Bob Eden. He was a police officer in Canada for nearly 30 years and redeveloped Phoenix Police Department’s Canine Unit.

He's now the CEO of Eden K9 Consulting & Training Corporation and says the biggest misconception is that K9s are aggressive.

"There's no reason to be afraid of them. 92% of the time, when they're deployed to find somebody, almost every single time, those dogs are successful in finding someone without physical apprehension taking place," he told ABC15.

Eden says it usually takes a command, combined with a situation the K9 recognizes through police training, that would cause the dog to become aggressive.

"For the most part, you're going to find a dog that's a police dog is no different than any other pet animal,” he added.

What we do know is that Rico is 7 years old and has been with the department for five years. He has also served with the same handler the entire time he’s been with Avondale PD.

Avondale police say Rico wasn't wearing a GPS tracker at all because the department only has K9s microchipped, adding they’re now looking into getting trackers for their K9s following this incident.

Meantime Eden tells ABC15 if you see a K9 without their handler, it's best to call 911.

"You would never walk up to a strange dog because you don't know what the dog's temperament is like or how he's going to react, and you would treat a police dog basically the same way," said Eden.

Avondale police say Rico was not hurt and has been reunited with his handler.

The department is looking into how he escaped.