A seven-year-old Belgian Malinois named Donna spent five years sniffing out narcotics for the Northside ISD Police Department in San Antonio. On August 11, 2026, records show she was euthanized and cremated within six hours of her handlers being told what it would cost to save her.
Donna was taken to an emergency veterinarian on August 10 after she began vomiting, suffered diarrhea and could not keep down food or water, according to KSAT. The next day, a veterinarian diagnosed an obstruction in her small intestine and recommended surgery to remove it. The emergency visit alone had already run between $3,000 and $4,000, and the vet estimated the operation itself would cost an additional $7,000.
That price tag mattered because Donna was not a stray pickup. An invoice reviewed by the outlet shows Northside ISD purchased her for $10,000 after she was born in Europe in 2019 and joined the department in 2021. The same vet told the district she could likely return to narcotics work after an appropriate recovery period, and that absent other significant health problems, she could regain a normal quality of life and live a few more years if the surgery succeeded.
A Six-Hour Turnaround
Instead of operating, the department weighed transferring Donna elsewhere or euthanizing her, per records cited by KSAT. Lt. Trello had asked for alternatives to surgery and their costs. Less than six hours after those alternatives were discussed, Donna was euthanized and cremated…