DEER PARK, Texas – They say dogs are a man’s best friend and that certainly holds true for one Texas police officer who ran outside during a tornado to rescue his K-9 partner.
Officer Joel Nitchman with Deer Park Police Department told KHOU that his K-9 partner Roni was in his kennel in the squad car when he realized a tornado was coming.
“I’ll never forget the noise. That’s when I knew this was a big tornado,” said Nitchman.
Winds had started picking up on Jan. 24 right after the pair returned to the police station from training.
“The thought of debris or the car flipping over — I couldn’t, couldn’t do that to him, I couldn’t have him out there during that,” said Nitchman. “He’s put himself in harm’s way for me before.”
Nitchman said debris was hitting his face and that he struggled to get the door to the squad car open due to the high winds.
“I could barely open his door. When I did, he’s a smart dog. He saw what was going on outside, and he was like, ‘I’m not coming out.’”
You can see the rescue in the video player at the top of this article.
At one point you can see in the video, visibility is down to zero.
“I’m like coaxing him: come on buddy. Let’s go,” said Nitchman. “I love that dog. He’s my hip attachment almost every day of the week. He’s a part of our family. You can’t leave a loved one like that. There’s no way I was going to leave him like that.”
Deer Park is a city located just west of Houston.
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