The Rock Island Police Department is dealing with the loss of their K-9 officer.

According to a post on the department’s Facebook page, K-9 Sparky Jackson underwent a medical procedure last week, but he experienced serious complications afterward.

His health declined significantly, and Sparky died on Friday, September 22nd.

Sparky Jackson was a four-year-old Belgian Malinois and worked alongside his handler, Officer Alex Bowman, since March 2021. Sparky was responsible for finding controlled substances, firearms and suspects, as well as participating in numerous search warrants and K-9 demonstrations.