Officer Missing His Police Dog Offers Own Reward For 'Partner'

Blanco's police dog, Mira, has been missing for nearly a week.

"It's tough to talk about, that's my partner and I get emotional about it," Blanco said. "That's my partner for four years."

Both dogs disappeared last week.

Officer Blanco believes they were stolen because the lock was removed from their pen.

The gate is also tough to maneuver.

"This fence has a lot of sand and you have to put it in to open it like so," Blanco said.

Jim Robbins, the owner of Robbins Auto Service, found Rocky at his garage, two miles from Blanco's house, last Thursday. He also spotted Mira's two collars in the grass a few days apart.

One was an anti-barking collar that Robbins believes was mistaken for a tracking collar.

"They probably thought it was someone's hunting dog and threw the collar off of it," Robbins said.

Mira is not a typical dog: she is a drug dog with the police department and can't have puppies. She only understands commands spoken in Dutch and isn't even house trained.

Blanco broke his foot recently during a scuffle with a suspect. He worries that when he heads back to work, he'll have to go without his crime fighting friend.

"I won't stop looking for her," Blanco said.

The department has invested about $9,000 in Mira. Blanco is personally offering a reward for her return -- no questions asked.

Previous stories:

November 16, 2004:

Authorities Believe Fayetteville Police Dog Was Stolen

November 11, 2004:

Fayetteville Police Search For Missing Police Dog