TERRE HAUTE —
A Terre Haute K-9 officer injured in the line of duty has been honored as a hero by the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association.
Shadow, a Belgian Malinois now retired from the Terre Haute Police Department, was in Indianapolis on Saturday to receive the Hero Award, which is presented by the IVMA to honor animals in Indiana that have distinguished themselves through acts of great courage or heroism.
“He’s more deserving than anyone,” veterinarian Jessica Cooke of Heritage Animal Hospital in Terre Haute told the Tribune-Star. Cooke nominated Shadow for the award, and she was at the awards ceremony along with THPD officers and family members of the late THPD Officer Brent Long, Shadow’s partner.
Shadow and Long were both shot while serving a warrant on North Eighth Street last July. Long was fatally wounded, and Shadow was shot in the jaw, resulting in a career-ending injury.
Shadow acted as a warrior on site, fulfilling his duty and helping to apprehend the assailant, despite taking a bullet to his jaw. For treatment, Shadow was taken to Heritage Animal Hospital where he was stabilized. The next day he was sent to Purdue University for additional treatment.
“If the bullet would have gone one or two inches in another direction, the injury could have been fatal,” said Purdue veterinarian and assistant clinical professor Tony Johnson in a statement released by the IVMA.
It will be a long road to recovery for Shadow. He recently went through another surgery to remove some bullet fragments remaining in his jaw, Cooke said, so for now he wears a muzzle to protect his jaw and to prevent him from chewing hard on anything and aggravating his jaw injury.
“We’re hoping he won’t have to have any more surgeries,” she said. “The last time I saw him, he was doing fine.”
When the IVMA sent out nomination requests for its awards program, Cooke said that Shadow was the first animal who popped into her mind.
“It was just something that Shadow deserves,” she said.
The IVMA agreed.
“Shadow exemplified bravery and heroism which is why IVMA is pleased to offer the Hero Award to Shadow this year,” stated Lisa Perius, executive director of IVMA.
The organization celebrated the special bond between people and their pets, and the importance of animal welfare, by honoring two dogs and three people during Saturday’s ceremony.
Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.
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