Rocky, a police dog of the United States Marshals Service who was shot and wounded by a fugitive, has been called a hero after alerting officers to his location.
A police dog is also known as a K-9 who is trained to assist cops and other law enforcement officers.
Rocky was shot by the fugitive – Sean Christopher Davis – who was killed in a shootout on Wednesday evening.
Before his death, Davis wounded the K-9 during the confrontation in a southwest Houston strip centre where he had earlier shot Brazoria County Sheriff’s Deputy Jesus Vargas, a Houston-based local news channel KHOU11 reports.
Rocky spotted Davis hiding in a trash bin at the strip centre, but when officers approached, he fired twice at the K-9 before he was shot and killed while still in the dumpster.
“The amazing aspect here that people have to understand, the K-9 saved lives,” Chief T Michael O’Connor of the US Marshals told KHOU11. “When the K-9 went in there, he decided to take the dog out.”
Amid the chaos, officers carried the injured K-9 to a Texas DPS helicopter, rushing him to a veterinary hospital for urgent treatment.
The Houston Police Department later confirmed that Rocky was in stable condition and is expected to recover.
Meanwhile, social media users applauded Rocky and called him a hero.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott also praised Rocky as a hero in his post on X.
More power to you Rocky.