K9 Shot After Sniffing Out Alleged Cop-Killer in Dumpster, US Marshals Have a Moving Response for the Downed Officer
A K9 service dog was shot twice while hunting down a suspect in Houston, Texas, as shown in a viral video of police rushing their canine colleague to get medical help.
Rocky, a 1 1/2-year-old Belgian Malinois who serves alongside the U.S. Marshals, was helping officers on Wednesday track down 56-year-old Robert Davis III, also known as Sean Christopher Davis, according to a report from Houston Public Media.
Davis was accused of fatally shooting Jesus Vargas, a member of the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force, while Vargas was executing an arrest warrant.
During the manhunt, Rocky found Davis hiding inside a dumpster near the scene of the shooting, but was himself shot after jumping into the container, suffering a wound in the nose and another in the neck.
Officers ended up returning fire and killing Davis during the altercation.
A viral video shared on X by Anayeli Ruiz, a reporter for KHOU, showed officers rushing the K9 to a helicopter so that he could get medical attention.
The officers were filmed carrying a wounded Rocky while waving their arms to signal for the helicopter to land.
Rocky was taken to Westbury Animal Hospital in southwest Houston.
He is now making a swift recovery, per Houston Public Media.
Dr. Jeff Chalkley told the outlet that the bullet which entered his neck narrowly missed his spine and vitals. Veterinarians put drain tubes into the animal on Thursday and closed his wounds.
But Rocky is now eating and walking, could be released promptly, and may even return to service.
“He is the luckiest dog I’ve seen,” Chalkley told the outlet. “That bullet could have ended his life instantly and it didn’t.”
“He is a hero, the dog is a hero,” he added.
Law enforcement authorities similarly observed Rocky’s heroism.
“The amazing aspect here people need to understand, the K9 saved lives,” T. Michael O’Connor, the U.S. Marshal of the Southern District of Texas, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“They are part of our existence as a police department, as law enforcement in general, whether it be bombs, drugs, saving lives,” Houston Police Department Chief Noe Diaz added.
“Those dogs are amazing. They are a part of us.”
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