Police dog diagnosed with mange

Just a few months after arriving in Ponca City, Police dog, Koda is returning to Indiana.

Koda was diagnosed with mange, which vets said all dogs are at risk of getting.

Police Chief, Don Bohon said this could affect his ability to work because the suggested treatment is neutering.

"Of course we aren’t experts in any of this, so we called the handlers who helped train Koda and sought their advice," Bohon said. "They suggested that if they had to neuter him it could affect his abilities due to drive that I guess it has some impacts on. He would be fine as a drug dog just for sniff to look for drugs, but it could have an impact on his ability to track, to chase, to apprehend and those type of things, because I guess neutering can impact the drive that feed that piece of the job."

Ben Garrison, K9 officer unit will return Wednesday with a new dog.

The new dog should be state certified for drug detection in about six weeks.

Bohon said they couldn’t risk the chance of the condition worsening, but Koda will still live a fulfilling life.

" I know that sounds harsh when you’re talking about an animal, but the issue is we have to look at it from a practical standpoint," Bohon said. "It’s a very large expenditure, on a tool that we are buying to do a certain job and I hope that doesn’t upset people, but it’s just kind of a harsh reality of what we do.

What Bohon suspects is the kennel will watch Koda’s condition for a while.

If they end up neutering him, he will go to a station that doesn’t need a dual purpose dog.

Bohon said this is hard for Garrison because bonding with the dog is part of the job.

The new dog could come from a different breeder and could even be a different breed, from a different country.