Jethro the K9 officer was fatally shot as he saved his partner, Ryan Davis, during a burglary.
An Ohio police officer has picked a new, four-legged partner after his K-9 colleague Jethro was laid to rest in a police funeral befitting a hero.
106 K9 officers walked in procession for K9 officer Jethro @cleveland19news pic.twitter.com/T0YrPauC5T
— Dani Carlson (@DaniCarlsonTV) January 14, 2016
Canton Police Department Officer Ryan Davis and Jethro were responding to a burglary call earlier this month when the German Shepherd entered the store and was shot four times.
At the K9s4COPS Foundation in Houston, Davis auditioned more than a dozen candidates for Jethro's position and put them through a battery of tests.
Read: Communities Mourn Two Police K-9s Shot and Killed Just Hours Apart
Eventually, Davis narrowed the field to finalists including: Tuko, a German Shepherd with a demonstrated skill for catching bad guys; Joker, a high-spirited Belgian Malinois and Cenzo, another Belgian Malinois that is especially good at tracking.
The dogs are from Hungary, so Davis learned canine commands in Hungarian.
The new hire?
Tuko, the German Shepherd.
Read: NYPD Cops Traveling to Police Dog Funeral Save Wheel-Chair Bound Woman In Crash
"For me, the bond was there," Davis said.
No dog will replace Jethro, he said. "There's always going to be a hole," Davis said.
But life, and work, goes on.
"Let's do it," Davis told his new partner. "We're going to have fun."
Watch: Police Dog Judge's Owners Open Up About Heartwarming Farewell
