Mesa, AZ – Mesa Police Department (MPD) K9 Aik died from a sudden case of pneumonia on Mar. 7, the department said.

“The Mesa Police Department is sad to announce that K9 Aik (pronounced Ike) passed away this morning,” MPD posted on their Facebook page.

“Aik had been fighting with Lupus for several years,” his partner, MPD Officer John LaFontaine explained in the thread associated with the post. “His symptoms would come and go but for the last few weeks he was struggling with it.”

K9 Aik was born in Germany, and joined MPD in January of 2013, when he was just 15 months old, according to the City of Mesa website.

“Aik showed lots of willingness to learn and wanted to play constantly,” his website profile read.

The Schutzhund-trained officer and his partner, Officer LaFontaine, were trained and certified in narcotics detection by the National Police Canine Association in 2013.

The department described Aik as a “very fast learner,” and said he had “been doing a great job for Mesa.”

“During K9 Aik’s career, he located hidden drugs 182 times,” MPD noted.

In February, K9 Aik helped to spread awareness about an upcoming holiday, when he was featured in an MPD Twitter post.

In his off-time, K9 Aik loved to play outside. He was also an avid swimmer, and enjoyed playing keep away with fellow Mesa officer K9 Spike, according to the city’s website.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mesa Police Department in the loss of K9 Aik.