Photo: Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office

Police dog shot by Chicago murder suspect released from hospital, expected to make ‘full recovery'

Welcome back, Riggs!

A K9 officer for the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department in Wisconsin has recovered and is being hailed a “hero” after recovering from a gunshot wound sustained while apprehending a suspect tied to several murders in Chicago.

“They brought him in, we triage him and they decided we just kind of had to see what was all going on,” veterinarian Dr. Taylor Naef toldABC7. “We stabilized him [and] he was a little shaky after taking a bullet to the head.”

Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office

Police dog shot by Chicago murder suspect released from hospital, expected to make ‘full recovery'

Police dog shot by Chicago murder suspect released from hospital, expected to make ‘full recovery'

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Police dog shot by Chicago murder suspect released from hospital, expected to make ‘full recovery'

Sheriff David Beth recalled the moment Riggs — who has spent five years on the police force — was injured, calling the dog a “hero” for his actions.

“In a lot of ways, he’s a hero today because he at least initially took the suspect down, kept him from running onto the Highway 50,” he said,NBC Chicagoreports. “In my world, Riggs is a hero and possibly saved someone else from being injured.”

Police dog shot by Chicago murder suspect released from hospital, expected to make ‘full recovery'

Riggs and his handler, Deputy Terry Tift, are taking time away from work following Riggs’s recovery.

“It has been a rough few days,” Tifft told ABC7 before thanking both Riggs and the community.

“He’s family, he’s always been,” he continued. “He’s a sweet dog, but he did his job, and he saved my life … The show of support from the community means more to me than you guys will ever know.”

source: people.com