After a long ordeal involving former Columbia police officer Rob Sanders and Fano, the police dog he trained, Sanders has officially purchased the dog.

After purchasing Fano from the Columbia Police Department for $1, Clarence Police Chief Raymond Barton sold Fano to Terry Toalson, who works for the Ashland Police Department. Toalson paid Barton $1 for the canine.

Barton said he was not aware that Toalson had sold Fano to Sanders, who originally trained the dog and fought to purchase him after he was discharged from the police department. CPD did not sell Fano to Sanders due to liability issues, according to a police department news release.

“Personally, I don’t have a problem with that,” Barton said. “Ultimately, I wanted to make sure Fano was worked.”

Barton purchased Fano with the intention to test the canine and see if he would work well with the Clarence Police Department. He said he would have applied for permission from the Clarence City Council to use the dog if Fano was a good fit. However, Barton said Fano proved too high-strung for a small town.

“He was a little too aggressive and had a lot of energy,” Barton said.

Barton said this was the only problem he saw with Fano.

The CPD sold Fano for $1 after Sanders was fired due to an excessive force incident last August, according to a previous Maneater article.

Barton said he didn’t make any money off of the dog.

Amy Sanders, Rob Sanders’ wife, posted a cell phone picture of Rob, Fano and Toalson on her Facebook page Monday. A comment she left on the photo read, “the dog recognized him so obviously and that brought (Rob Sanders) to tears. Wish I could have had that on video!!!”

CPD spokeswoman Latisha Stroer declined to comment on Fano.