WISE COUNTY, Va. — A K-9 in southwest Virginia named Boone is getting us uplifted with his resilience.
He's a one-year-old bloodhound with the Wise County Sheriff's Office. With his keen sense of smell, Boone helps officers track down evidence, missing people, and suspects.
But a few months ago, his handler noticed a knot on his leg. That knot ended up being cancer.
Vets were able to remove the cancer, which also led to the amputation of his leg. The sheriff's office thought it meant Boone would have to retire, but the K-9 had other ideas.
"Two or three days after the surgery I was talking to the vet and she said this dog is bouncing around like it has five legs, it does not know its missing a leg, and she said he's going to be able to go back to work," Sheriff E. Grant Kilgore said.
After getting the all clear, Boone did just that, and just a few weeks later, he found a missing child. And in the next two weeks, he found two more missing kids.
Police K-9s typically serve for up to nine years before retiring, and it looks like Boone is well on-track for many more years of service.
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