Beloved retired Oro Valley K-9 Bruno passes away

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - A beloved and famous Oro Valley Police Department K-9 has passed away.

Steffany Reynolds confirmed with 13 News that Bruno died on Sunday, June 4.

Bruno, whose partner was OVPD police officer Roger Reynolds, retired in 2020 after seven years of service to the community.

Bruno, a Belgian Malinois, became a social media star thanks to a retirement video shot by Officer Reynolds.

Officer Reynolds posted the video on the OVPD Facebook page on Feb. 1, 2020.

In less than a week, the video was viewed more than 380,000 times and shared more than 5,000 times. Bruno received a much-deserved ice cream sandwich at the end of the video, winning the hearts of many.

Bruno started with the department in 2013 and worked as a patrol and narcotics K-9. Bruno helped police remove nearly a million dollars worth of drugs from our community.

Officer Reynolds said he was pretty shocked to see the video go viral and attract media attention from across the country.

As a result of that attention, Reynolds received requests from people who wanted to help Bruno and other K-9s.

Bruno may be gone, but his legacy will live on. If you are interested in helping other K-9s in Bruno’s name, check out the following links:

• http://orovalleyoptimist.com/
• http://azk9heroes.org/
• https://soazlef.org/canine-walk/