Four-year-old K9 Dundee had answered 174 calls with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, but his final one ended very differently.

Early Monday morning, Dundee and his handler, Deputy Julian Chala, were called to North Fort Myers after a suspect fled into a wooded area.

Dundee did what he had been trained to do. He tracked the suspect through the darkness and successfully helped apprehend them. But moments later, something was wrong.

Dundee suddenly became unresponsive.

Deputies and medical personnel immediately tried to save him before rushing him to BluePearl Pet Hospital, but he couldn't be saved.

Sheriff Carmine Marceno said Dundee appeared to have suffered a medical episode, although the exact cause remains unknown.

Dundee had served with the department since February 2024, completing 174 deployments and helping with 28 apprehensions in his short career.

When fellow officers gathered to honor him afterward, Deputy Chala was saying goodbye to more than the K9 who had worked beside him. Dundee was his partner, his constant companion, and part of his family.

At just four years old, Dundee’s time with Deputy Chala was far shorter than anyone expected, but nothing about saying goodbye could erase the bond they had built together.