Chicago police horse “Mikey C” and his human partner, Chicago Police Officer Paul Casasanto (Photo courtesy: Chicago Police Department)
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CHICAGO (CBS) — A Chicago Police horse, named after a fallen officer, has died on the job.
As WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports, the horse, named Mikey C, was patrolling the lakefront as he had been for the past eight years, when he collapsed Monday at the North Avenue Beach and died.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports
Mikey C’s human partner, Mounted Patrol Officer Paul Casasanto, tried to console him as he lay struggling for a few seconds before dying.
A crowd of beachgoers, including a Chicago Tribune reporter, was present as Mikey C fell to the ground. A little boy was seen asking his mother what was wrong with the horse, the Tribune reported.
It has not yet been determined what caused the 18-year-old horse to die, but it is thought that he had a seizure.
Mikey C was a former racehorse, and was named for Officer Michael Ceriale, who was killed in the line of duty in 1998 while conducting drug surveillance.
Casasanto told the Tribune that Mikey C was like a member of his family.
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