Dogs
Officer puts his life on the line for K9 trapped outside during tornado
Officer Joel Nitchman knew he had to reach his K9 Roni.
Maria Pangilinan
02.10.23

Dogs are called “man’s best friend” for many reasons.

Dogs are loyal, intelligent, and are great companions for people of all ages.

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YouTube KHOU11

People and dogs started living together 15,000 years ago.

Dogs followed early people as they migrated throughout East Asia.

This began a special relationship between humans and dogs that has stood the test of time.

Aside from loving pets, dogs are also great work partners.

One special example is the relationship between Officer Joel Nitchman and his K-9 partner Roni.

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YouTube KHOU11

Last January, an EF-3 tornado ripped through Deer Park, Texas.

The tornado was powerful and damaged multiple homes and buildings in the area.

Many areas had no power and people also needed to evacuate their homes.

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YouTube KHOU11

On the day of the tornado, Officer Nitchman and Roni had just arrived at the police station after a training session when the winds began getting stronger.

While Office Nitchman was safely inside the station, Roni was left in his kennel inside the squad car.

As the winds were howling, Office Nitchman left the safety of the police station to rescue Roni from the car.

YouTube KHOU11
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YouTube KHOU11

CCTVs captured Officer Nitchman running outside to save Roni from the storm in almost zero visibility.

The rain was pouring, and lightning was also flashing.

“The thought of debris, or the car flipping over, I couldn’t do that to him. I couldn’t have him out there during that,” the officer told news channel KHOU 11.

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YouTube KHOU11

He said he knew the situation was bad when debris started hitting his face.

However, the situation was about to get even worse.

“Once I went around the car, that’s when all hell broke loose,” he shared.

The rain and wind intensified, and by the time he made it to Roni’s side of the car, he couldn’t get his K-9 partner out.

YouTube KHOU11
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YouTube KHOU11

“I could barely open his door. When I did, he’s a smart dog, he saw what was going on outside, and he said I’m not coming out,” Officer Nitchman said with a laugh.

He had to coax Roni to get out of the car.

The officer finally got Roni out and the video shows them going around the car and hurrying back to the police station.

YouTube KHOU11
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YouTube KHOU11

Officer Nitchman said he had never been through anything like that before.

A week after the harrowing incident, the video of the officer rescuing his K-9 partner went viral.

Many people lauded the officer for putting the safety of Roni over his own.

“I love that dog. He’s my hip attachment almost every day of the week. He’s a part of our family. We can’t leave a loved one like that. There’s no way I was going to leave him like that,” the officer shared.

Fortunately, both of them got through the tornado unscathed.

YouTube KHOU11
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YouTube KHOU11

They’re back to work and closer than ever before.

The relationship between man and dog is extraordinary.

They are not only working partners but true friends and family members as well.

Officer Nitchman and Roni’s partnership is the perfect example of this.

Watch the brave officer rescue his loyal K-9 partner from a storm in the video below!

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