Retired Rescue Dog Saves Elderly Man
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A retired search and rescue service dog is being hailed as a hero for helping locate an elderly man before it was too late.
It was several weeks ago that a man only identified as 78-year old with dementia had gone missing after a visit to a Fort Worth salvage yard. Somehow, he had wandered into the stretch of the Trinity River that sits behind the salvage yard.
Several officers had tried finding him for hours to no avail.
Luca, an 11-year-old German Shepard, was brought in to save the day.
"They knew that I had a search and rescue dog, a German Shepard," said Brock, "and, although, retired he still knows what to do."
Officer Brock says Luca and him were previously partners at a different out of state police department. Once Luca retired, Brock got to keep him.
They moved down to Fort Worth where the K-9 officially went into retirement and Brock was hired on with FWPD.
Officer Brock said it wasn't long before Luca began tracking a scent near the river, and ultimately found the man.
"His ability is beyond anything I could ever imagine. It's unfathomable what these dogs can do and this breed," said Brock. "The training he went through and the fact that it will stay with him until the day he is gone."
Luca is now being credited for saving the man's life, and, as a reward, he was given a large bacon cheeseburger.
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