LAFAYETTE, Ga. (AP) — A sheriff's department in northwest Georgia is mourning the loss of a canine officer who was fatally shot after about three months on the job.
Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson tells the Chattanooga Times Free Press that a local motorcycle group composed of active and retired law enforcement workers donated money to buy Tanja, a Dutch shepherd, a bulletproof vest and the dog was fatally wounded by a shotgun blast later that day.
Deputies are planning a memorial service Friday morning at the Walker County Civic Center. The service is expected to include a 10-mile procession along U.S. Highway 27.
Wilson says the department considered Tanja part of the family, and the dog will be memorialized as if she were a human employee.
