Timeline: Sky’s final chapter

A chronology of Sky's service, documented suffering and death — August 2021 to September 2026

16 August 2021

Sky is born

A Belgian Shepherd later registered as SAPS service dog B8118, Sky enters the world.

2021–2026

Five years on the front line

Sky is trained and deployed as an SAPS arson-detection dog, identifying traces of accelerants at fire scenes across five years of active service.

March 2026

Warning signs recorded at Roodeplaat

Sky is treated at the SAPS Veterinary Hospital in Roodeplaat for wounds to her face, legs, jaw and teeth. Veterinary records note a persistent history of escaping her kennel and compulsive escape attempts. She is diagnosed with separation anxiety and severe kennel stress and prescribed fluoxetine. Her prognosis within the SAPS environment is formally recorded as poor.

28 August 2026

Official welfare certificate issued

A veterinary certificate documents Sky's severe kennel stress and repeated self-inflicted injuries, concluding that continued deployment within SAPS would directly compromise her welfare.

Early September 2026

Catastrophic injuries at the kennel

Sky sustains severe injuries while confined at Roodeplaat, including an open fracture to her left front leg and a fracture to her right front leg. Blood and impact marks are found around the kennel grille, raising questions about whether the injuries were sustained during a further escape attempt.

8 September 2026

Criminal case opened over Animals Protection Act

Police Portfolio Committee chairperson Ian Cameron opens a criminal case at Paarl Police Station, citing possible violations of the Animals Protection Act in relation to Sky's treatment and condition.

9 September 2026

Sky is euthanised

Sky is put down after her condition deteriorates and her injuries — including the bilateral leg fractures — are deemed too severe to treat. She is five years old.

10 September 2026

Wider investigation sought

In the wake of Sky's death, calls are made for a broader investigation into the welfare conditions and management of SAPS service animals held at Roodeplaat and elsewhere.

Sky served as an SAPS arson-detection dog for five years, and as early as March 2026 veterinary records formally diagnosed severe kennel stress, documented repeated escape injuries and recorded her prognosis in the SAPS environment as poor. But no intervention followed: by early September 2026 Sky had sustained catastrophic bilateral leg fractures, with blood and impact marks found at her kennel grille. A criminal case under the Animals Protection Act was therefore opened the day before she was euthanised — raising the question of whether documented welfare warnings, issued months before her death, were ever acted on.