It is with great sadness that the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office made an announcement of the passing of Canine EJ yesterday.
EJ was handled by his partner, Deputy Richard Bull. Bull found EJ unresponsive inside his kennel on Jan. 19. Findings suggest he passed away from a medical condition known as gastric torsion of the stomach, but an autopsy is scheduled to determine the true cause of death.
Canine EJ was born on September 25, 2015 in Hungary and began his career with the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office in March of 2017. Canine EJ and Deputy Bull were New York State certified in criminal apprehension, area searches, building searches, muzzle deployment, tactical high-risk deployment, tracking and advanced narcotics detection.
During their career as a canine team, Deputy Bull and Canine EJ were responsible for several successful tracks, the recovery of numerous pieces of evidence and discovery of illegal narcotics. They also conducted several demonstrations at various events throughout Niagara County, including Lockport Blue, D.A.R.E., Young Marines and the Niagara County Fair.
“While Canine EJ’s tenure with the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office was short, he undoubtedly will be remembered for his hard work, loyal friendship to Deputy Bull and service to Niagara County,” said Sheriff James R. Voutour.
Canine EJ was named after LCpl. Eric James Orlowski, a United States Marine, fellow Marine and friend of Deputy Bull, who was killed in action on March 22, 2003 during Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq.
