A nine-year-old German Shepard named "Dante" had to be put down after being diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. The dog had trouble breathing and started having seizures.
His handler, veteran state police Officer Chris Coscia, didn't want his dog's service to go unnoticed. He wrote a goodbye letter -- a tribute to his partner -- while on the way to the vet to put down Dante. He says it was his way of coping with the loss.
"He was just a great dog, so intelligent. He just loved to work. He just lived to go to work every day," said Coscia.
The department posted the letter on its Facebook page and so far, it's been shared over 10,000 times.
Officer Coscia has been given a new K-9 partner. "Felix" will begin patrolling alongside him soon.
You can read the full letter here.
