Blake played an instrumental role in locating the bodies of people trapped under the mud during the Batang Kali landslide on Dec 16, which claimed the lives of 31 people, including 13 children.

The housing and local government ministry announced the canine’s death in a statement today, saying that the fire and rescue department dog failed to recover after being diagnosed with stage four lymphoma cancer on Aug 15.

Blake had received treatment at Universiti Putra Malaysia’s (UPM) veterinary faculty. In September, his health deteriorated as he lost his appetite and became lethargic.

The ministry said Blake also failed to respond to medication and treatment as the cancer had aggressively spread throughout its body.

“After a discussion with UPM veterinary expert Dr Nur Alimah Rahman, the department agreed to euthanise Blake due to his sudden deteriorating health,” said the ministry.

“The decision was made as there was no hope of recovery and (the department wanted) to prevent Blake from suffering more pain.”

The fire and rescue department obtained Blake, an English Springer Spaniel, from the UK in 2017.