Slain officer's K9 partner retires

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WISH) - Big changes are coming for a Terre Haute police dog shot in the line of duty. The German shepherd, named Shadow, is about to go home.

Shadow was shot July 11; his partner, Terre Haute Officer Brent Long, was fatally shot in the incident .

K9 teams have a tight knit bond with the officers, who often spend more time with their four-legged partners than their own families. At the Purdue University Vet clinic a few weeks ago, Shadow walked out to tears, cameras, officers embracing.

It was a tender moment as Shadow walked past the casket holding the body of his partner. Dozens of K9 teams from around the country filed past Long’s casket, paying their respects too .

On July 11, Long and Shadow were among several officers serving a warrant in Terre Haute. Shadow went into the house first, looking for the suspect hiding out. The dog was the first to be shot in the jaw. His partner was immediately met with gunfire, and he too was shot in the face twice. Long did not survive, and Shadow almost died, too.

"Had they not adequately stabilized him,” a Purdue vet said, “he could have potentially died from his injury."

Police dogs live with the officers and their families. They protect together, play together, persevere together. It's why the officers saluted like soldiers when Shadows emerged from treatment.

Shortly after getting Shadow Brent Long had a new tattoo of Shadow on his back. He said that way Shadow would always have his back. Shadow had his back all the way to the very end.

Shadow is now retired, and later this week - when the fence is fixed - he will go home to Long’s wife, who was a dispatcher on duty the day of the shooting, and his two children.