GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Kent County Sheriff’s Office announced Saturday that it is mourning the loss of one of its cherished horses, Hank.

The sheriff’s office says 8-and-a-half-year-old Hank started showing symptoms of the bacterial disease Potomac Horse Fever.

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Officials said Hank fought hard, but the sickness was too much for his body’s immune system.

The members of the sheriff’s office’s Mounted Unit say they will always remember him as “Hank the Tank,” a gentle giant with a distinguished “L” on his forehead.

They say Hank, a Percheron/Thoroughbred cross gelding, was incredible with kids and a unit favorite.

Hank the Tank joined the Kent County Sheriff’s Office in 2017.