Paw and order!
A clever German shepherd who had strayed from home made an appearance at a police station in Florida, where an officer helped return him to his emotional owner.
Security footage from the Tampa Police Department showed the “unexpected K-9 applicant” walking up to the front door of the station and being greeted by an officer who opened it on September 30.
“This four-legged visitor was eager to join our team, but sadly, our K-9 roster is currently full,” the Tampa police stated in a Wednesday release. “We ensured this hopeful recruit was safely reunited with his owner instead.”
“He may not have gotten the job, but he definitely stole our hearts,” the department added.
The officer took the lost dog to a vet for a checkup and then scanned his microchip to locate his anxious owner.
Later that day, officers brought the dog back to his family.
“Hi, how are you?” the officer asked, with the dog still in his vehicle, as seen in police bodycam footage.
“I’m not so good; I lost my dog,” the woman replied.
“I have him,” the officer said.
“You have him, really?! I was crying this morning,” she exclaimed.
“Yeah, just wanted to make sure, since he showed up at the police department, so I had him in the car,” the officer explained.
“I took him to the vet, checked his chip, and confirmed he has owners. I wanted to ensure he wasn’t abandoned,” he added.
“Thank you, thank you. He made me crazy,” the woman said.
She hugged her dog tightly, welcoming him home and expressing gratitude to the officer for his help.
The woman mentioned that her German shepherd, whose name wasn’t disclosed, enjoys playing outside quite a bit.
German shepherds are well-known for their intelligence and trainability, making them a popular choice in law enforcement for their ability to learn commands and work closely with handlers.
Police urged pet owners to consider microchipping their animals, highlighting how the technology can assist in reuniting lost pets with their families.
This heartwarming reunion comes on the heels of two other families reuniting with dogs they had lost for over a decade.
Last month, a woman from Chicago was reunited with her chihuahua, Flor, 12 years after the dog went missing.
Antonino had been living in her car with the four-year-old dog in 2014 when she left for work, only to return and find her pet gone.
In March, a family in Philadelphia was able to get their dog, Forty, back nearly 11 years after he had been stolen from their yard.
The terrier mix, whose full name is 40Cal, was taken along with another dog from the family’s home in May 2015.
