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Miami Police Find K-9 Missing For Several Hours

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBSMiami) – Miami police officers located a K-9 missing for several hours Saturday.

The dog was located safe and sound.  It was taken to Animal Services by a resident in the area.

Watch Maggie Newland's report, click here.

The police dogs are not only worth thousands of dollars, they're valuable members of the department and even more valuable to their partners.

That is why police searched from the air and the ground Saturday for the one-and-a-half-year old Belgian Malinois named Nas.

He was last seen around 11 a.m. Police learned he'd been found about four hours later. 

"No holds barred we went all out looking for him," said Sgt. Orestes Guas.  

According to officials, the dog was found in the area of SW 87th Avenue not far from where he was reported missing.

His handler said he jumped a six-foot fence.

"I let him out to break, to let him go to the bathroom. Literally within five minutes I went to check on him and I noticed that he had gotten over the fence," said Officer Stephanie Collazo, his handler.  "Panic mode first thing I did was try to look around the area I walk him all the time."

Nas has only been with his handler for just about a month and a half. He is a new K-9 to the Miami Police Department, officials said.

"We all get nervous because, at the end of the day, these dogs live with us, they're not just our partners who bring us home at the end of the night, but they're also at home they're like our pets. We love them," added Sgt. Guas.

"It's like losing one of my kids," added Officer Collazo. 

When the K-9 and his handler were reunited, it was a sense of relief for Officer Collazo.

"I'm so glad to have him back. I was afraid. I thought something might have happened to him or God-forbid he was gone and we couldn't retrieve him back," Officer Collazo said.

She and other members of the department would like to thank the person who took Nas to animal services.

Police said the community was never at risk from the dog being loose.  Officers said the dog is trained to follow commands and wouldn't attack someone for no reason.

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