Last week, in the wee hours of the morning, an unexpected visitor strolled through the doors of the Odessa Police Department in Texas and hopped up onto the counter.
It was a friendly dog who seemed eager to let officers know of an incident in progress — that a certain someone had gone missing from home.
He, himself.
Sergeant Rusty Martin was among the officers there to receive him, noting that the pup appeared none too distressed by his “lost dog” status. Mostly, he just seemed out for a good time — and he got one.
“We were all excited to have him in the building,” Martin told The Dodo. “We had a tennis ball and threw it in the lobby for a bit. Everyone loved on him.”
Despite enjoying the dog’s surprise company, those on duty didn’t forget about the case he’d originally brought forward. Solving it, however, soon hit a snag.
The dog was wearing a collar, but the ID tag had apparently fallen off, so animal control was dispatched to come check for a microchip.
Before they arrived, though, things took a turn.
Evidently deciding he’d been “missing” long enough, the dog headed back to his family, all on his own.
“He ran out just as quick as he came in,” Martin said, having posted about the incident on Facebook. “The owner responded the next day [to say that] it was his dog and he had returned home. He lives about a mile from the station.”
The dog, who’s named Chico, had cracked his first case — albeit one of his own design.
“I was impressed,” Martin said. “He may just be cut out for this work.”