CORYELL COUNTY, Texas — The Coryell County Sheriff's Office is calling on the community to help one of their own, but this deputy has four legs and a tail.
6 News would like to introduce Deputy K9 Stana.
She's a 6-year-old Belgian Malinois who has a heart of service.
She's been a deputy with the sheriff's office for five years.
"Stana's favorite thing to do is to find drugs," said her handler of a year in a half, Deputy David Ashley. "She specializes in narcotics so meth heroin, cocaine, marijuana, MDMA. We do searches of the classrooms, lockers, buses, buildings, luggage checks and stuff like that before schools decide to go on long class trips and things of that sort."
But, Stana has run into a problem.
She has several injuries and conditions after her years of service and also from just being a dog.
"A lot of times it'll happen when they're playing, they're running, they're jumping, any of those motions, whether it's going up or coming down wrong," Ashley explained.
The deputy K9 has bad hips, arthritis in her knees and spine.
But, the worst thing going for her right now is a torn ACL that requires surgery.
"Right now we're just trying to keep her comfortable until it's time for her to get her surgery," Ashley said.
Getting Stana healthy with surgery and other medical bills comes with a hefty price tag and that's why the sheriff's office is looking for help.
While the CCSO does have a budget allocated for their K9 program, it doesn't cover what this dog needs.
They started a GoFundMe seeking donations from the community to help cover the costs of Stana's medical bills which is estimated between $1,200 and $1,670. The surgery will be performed locally at Coryell Veterinary Clinic.
"It's been an incredible thing to see the outpouring of support and all the help that's actually come in," Ashley said.
So far, more money has been donated than what was requested. Ashley says any extra money will help keep the K9 unit in the sheriff's office alive.
He says the animals are important for the work they do and the duo's duties has been felt across many counties.
"It's not uncommon for us to be woken up at two - three o'clock in the morning and get called to where we actually have to rush over to Copperas Cove or Hamilton or some of these other counties and really help them out because they don't have K9s of their own," he explained. "So, it's not only a great support for our own local community but the surrounding communities as well."
CCSO is collecting money at their office in Gatesville and also on GoFundMe.
After the surgery, Stana will retire with the Ashley family where she will spend the rest of her days.