The dog had been struck by a car and was left for dead in a ditch.
A New York State trooper went to the home of an elderly couple — on his day off — and buried their beloved dog after it was killed by a hit-and-run driver.
Trooper Louis Godfroy had answered a call the day before by Henry and Edith Meininger, both 92, who reported their pet golden retriever was dead in a ditch along Route 22 near Albany.
Read: Mom Sobs as Son with Autism Snuggles with New Service Dog: 'The Connection is Life-Changing'
The heartbroken couple did not have the physical strength to carry the body of their faithful dog, Hoku. So Godroy put the animal in his cruiser and drove it to the Meininger’s 24-acre property and laid it inside an old barn.
The couple said they didn’t have the money to pay someone to dig a grave for Hoku, the Albany Times Union reported.
“Oh no, you guys aren’t going to hire anyone,” the trooper told them.
He returned the next day, while off-duty, and picked up a shovel. Meininger called him “just an amazingly wonderful person,” the paper said. “He was so accommodating.”
Godfroy, who was named trooper of the year in 2015, demonstrated “compassion, courtesy and professionalism by taking the initiative to help the elderly couple,” the state police said in a statement Monday.
Read: Mama Dog and Day-Old Pups Rescued Right Before They Were to Be Put Down
The trooper said his actions were no big deal.
“I didn’t do it for the ‘attaboy,’ of the publicity,” he told the paper. “I felt bad that a couple’s faithful friend got hit.”
State police are investigating the incident and looking for witnesses, the department said.
Watch: Firefighters Free Trapped Dog That Survived Overnight Under Earthquake Rubble
