Sheriff: Dog Gunned Down Last Week Was 'Valued Member' of Department

RIVERSIDE - Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff today praised the canine fatally shot last week while pursuing a gunman as a ''hero'' who likely saved deputies' lives by sacrificing his own.

''We're all in mourning for Sultan,'' Sniff told the Board of Supervisors after being asked to speak at the beginning of the board's regular Tuesday meeting. ''We lost a valued member of our law enforcement family this past week.''

Sultan was shot in the neck during a search Wednesday afternoon in the 40200 block of Clark Drive in East Hemet. According to Sniff, the 3-year-old Belgian Malinois-German sheph...