SPECIAL TO THE PVT Sgt. Bill Wagnon proudly rides his partner Shadow during an event at Patrack Park. Sadly, Wagnon's partner passed away recently. Advertisement

The Nye County Sheriff's Office recently observed the passing away of Shadow, a horse in the sheriff's office Mounted Enforcement Unit.

Shadow had been with the sheriff's office since 2000, when the Mounted Enforcement Unit was first conceived.

Shadow served the sheriff's office as an ambassador, honor guard, at special events, on search and rescue missions, and in numerous training events in Las Vegas with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Mounted Unit.

Sgt. Bill Wagnon, in a prepared statement, expressed his grief at the loss of his partner.

"The untimely passing of a friend, partner, and co-worker, no matter what form their life form, is accepted without protest," Wagon wrote. "This natural occurrence changes nothing except begets the end of the new experiences or episodes to share together, leaving only a memory."

Shadow succumbed to a fast-spreading cancer that attacked the lower portion of her urinary bladder leaving doctors with no choice but to put her down.

She began life as a mustang on the Tonopah Test Range until she was captured and unwillingly introduced to a domestic lifestyle and sometimes cruel owners, according to Wagnon's statement.

In 1997, she was introduced to Wagnon.

"In my search for a new horse, Shadow quickly bonded with me during our first introduction; due primarily to her personality she made it impossible to turn my back on her," Wagnon wrote.

Shadow quickly began teaching her new partner. "With an eager and willing spirit, both of us embarked on our new life," Wagnon wrote. "The demise of Shadow is a great loss to the Nye County Sheriff's Office and to me personally."