Jethro ended up taking four bullets in the place of his handler. Ryan Davis, the handler, was devastated at the loss.

It began as a routine burglary call at a store in Ohio. Officer Ryan Davis and his k9 unit, Jethro, arrived on the scene.

Davis and Jethro entered the store. The burglar turned to face Davis and aimed his gun. But Jethro ran up to the burglar, intending to take him down. The burglar switched his aim to the dog and shot repeatedly. Jethro was hit four times.

Soon, Davis had apprehended the burglar. Next, he ran to Jethro. He was horrified to see his beloved dog bleeding from multiple wounds.

Davis rushed Jethro to the vet. The vets performed emergency surgery on Jethro.

For the next day and a half, Jethro fought for his life. Davis was by his side constantly. But eventually, the dog passed away.

“I’d trade places with him in a heartbeat.” – Officer Ryan Davis.

Naturally, Davis felt terrible. He had taken in Jethro when he was a puppy. For over a year, they had worked together. Jethro died when he was just two-years-old.

On what would have been Jethro’s third birthday, the police department held a huge funeral for the dog. K9 units and their handlers from across the country turned out for the funeral. Jethro’s heroism needed to be honored.

Davis was still in mourning when he had to begin the difficult task of replacing Jethro. After all, his job required him to work with a k9 unit.

Soon, Davis began meeting up with other dogs. No dog would be quite like Jethro. But he knew that there was another animal out there that he could form a personal and professional bond with.

The K9s4COPS Foundation arranged for Davis to meet with a dozen other potential replacements.

All of these dogs had merit. All of them reminded Davis of Jethro. Picking one would be incredibly difficult.

Eventually, Davis had narrowed down his selection to just three dogs.

One of them, Tuko, was a German Shepherd whose hard work and dedication stunned Davis. He was also considering Joker, a Belgian Malinois, whose high spirits would come in handy. Lastly, there was Cenzo, also a Belgian Malinois, who excelled at tracking.

In the end, Davis picked Tuko.

Over the coming weeks, Davis and Tuko bonded. Soon, they both began working together.

Davis and Tuko have become great partners. Davis still misses Jethro terribly. But he knows that Jethro would want him to keep on working.

Jethro and Davis’s story then appeared on YouTube, where it went viral.

To date, the video has gained over 2.2 million views. It also has more than 28,000 likes and 1,800 comments. People have been saying things like this:

It’s always tragic when any dog dies. But Jethro’s story is especially heartbreaking. He was so young, and all that he wanted to do was keep people safe. At least millions of people have learned about him and his life-saving sacrifice.

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Source: Inside Edition