GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — While GRPD K9 Dozer may not be back to work, he's closer to being back to his usual self.
"He's spirited, we'll call him that," said Dozer's partner Officer Teddy VanVliet.
It was uncertain whether he would get back to this point of being able to run around back in August.
"He's healed better than I think we thought he was going to," said Officer VanVliet. "He's at a good level right now."
Dozer was in the back of Officer Teddy VanVliet's patrol car responding to a breaking and entering call when they were they were hit by an SUV.
In dashcam video from that night, you can hear the impact of the crash along with Officer VanVliet telling other officers arriving on scene to check on Dozer.
"There's a lot of things that went through my head I guess right after it happened," said Officer VanVliet. "'Am I okay? Are the people okay in that car? Is the dog okay? Okay, where is my dog?' Then I could see what happened, I could see the injuries, then it was getting that dog out of there and getting him some help."
Dozer has been undergoing physical therapy to heal his injured hind legs. Initially, the injuries had left him temporarily paralyzed. As of right now, he's still part of the K9 team at GRPD.
GRPD has said they're still not sure if Dozer will return to work, or retire. If he does retire, he will live with Officer VanVliet.
Regardless, the duo is thankful to the department, and the community, for their love and support throughout the recovery process.
"Everyone in the state, everyone in the country and everyone in the world has reached out inquiring on how the dog has been doing, so that's been really great," said Officer VanVliet.
The five people in the car that hit the cruiser did flee the scene. As of right now, that case is still under investigation.
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