Joe Kahlo
This is the moment a police officer performs a gesture of heartbreaking devotion to his beloved dying horse
The officer from Houston has been photographed laying down on the street with his dying horse following an accident.
The photo of the two was shared on the Animal Justice League‘s Facebook page and has since received over 28k likes.
It shows Officer D. Herrejon of the Houston Police Department laying down on the street to comfort his dying horse.
Charlotte, the six-year-old police horse was taking her final breaths when the officer got down on the floor with her to make sure she was comfortable as she passed.
“Yesterday a police horse was spooked, bucked the rider and ran into the street where it was unfortunately then hit by a truck,” it said on the photo’s caption.
“This is a pic of the officer laying with her while she took her last breath.“
“We admire the heart and strength of this officer because as you know, when you lose an animal, to be with them during their last breath is a heartbreaking and tough thing to do.”
Luckily, Officer Herrejon came out unscathed physically, you could see how affected he was by the death of his horse in the photo.
“You undergo a lot of training as a [mounted police] officer,” Houston Police Department spokesman Keese Smith said.
“You work with those horses on a daily basis. Those horses undergo a lot of training before they’re put on the street, so there would be a bond. Those horses are those officers’ partners.”
