Fox Nation's 'Hero Dogs' series highlights Tennessee K9 'Joker' who overcame tragedy
The new season 5 episode highlights how Joker, a loyal K9 to the Bradley County Police Department, overcame a life-threatening situation and turned the harrowing event into one that re-wrote safety for K9s in the line of duty.
One heroic Tennessee pup overcame a life-threatening tragedy, and in the wake of conquering darkness, re-wrote justice for K9s hurt while serving in the line of duty.
Fox Nation's ‘Hero Dogs’ series highlights Joker in season 5, a German Shepherd who serves in the Bradley County Sheriff's office and became an important symbol of loyalty within the local police community.
"The word got passed around that if it's Joker coming after you, you don't want to run, you want to stop," Deputy Eduardo Choate, Joker's handler, recalled in the episode. "That's the celebrity status that he got as a K-9 was; everybody knew who Joker is. He will find you every time."
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Choate picked Joker, who is from the Netherlands, to be his partner in crime back in 2015.
Choate said the pup had a different energy than the other dogs, and he knew he would be a successful professional in the field. Joker passed his certifications with "flying colors," and quickly built up his reputation within the criminal and law enforcement circles of being the best of the best. He became infamously known in the criminal community for his excellence in apprehension, narcotics, and tracking.
But one night changed everything for the worse.
Tennessee police K9 'Joker' was shot while serving in the line of duty (Fox Nation)
Joker and Choate were involved in a police chase with several suspected gang members, who were supposedly stealing belongings from an apartment complex.
The duo chased the group down on the highway, shortly before they pulled the car over as the suspects ran into a dark wooded area.
Choate deployed Joker and waited for a response, but received nothing.
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"Somehow, after about 20 minutes, we came up on top of this hill, and I looked down, and I thought I saw something move," Choate said. "And the deputy said, 'I think that's Joker.'"
"There was blood on everything," he continued. "You could tell he had-- there was a struggle there, and there was a jacket, so I knew he had apprehended someone. And, immediately, I could tell he had been shot."
A Marine working with Choate that night grabbed Joker and threw him over his back before driving 30 minutes to the closest veterinarian.
Little did he know, that quick decision would save Joker's life.
Photo of 'Joker' a police K( who was injured in the line of duty (Fox Nation)
"He couldn't walk anymore," Choate recalled. "Every few hours, he's being fed through a feeding tube, a catheter. He had IV and other medication constantly to keep him sedated and to deal with the pain, so he didn't look good."
But State Representative Mark Hall heard the suspects involved in the shooting did not spend time behind bars.
He was furious and took matters into his own hands to change the precedent, sponsoring legislation to make it a felony to shoot a police K9.
"Historically, if an individual assaults a law enforcement K-9 resulting in injury, or bodily harm, or even death, it's nothing more than a destruction of property crime," Hall said.
Joker's Law now makes the offense punishable by up to 30 years behind bars.
"Because he has saved my life, my coworkers, many citizens in the apprehensions that he had made," Choate said. "And, now, with, hopefully, Joker's Law, he would change the future and be able to deter even more crimes and more K-9 officers from being harmed."
Joker battled life-threatening injuries for weeks.
Fortunately, he overcame the physical tragedies of that life-changing night, and still serves the Bradley County community alongside Choate, his long-time partner in crime.
To learn more about Joker's story, sign up on Fox Nation today and stream season 5 of ‘Hero Dogs.’
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