K9 Foundation identifies K-9 officer shot during chase in Cartersville on Thursday

BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. - The Georgia Police K9 Foundation has identified the K-9 officer shot in the line of duty on Thursday afternoon during the pursuit of a kidnapping suspect as a dog named Athos.

Athos was rushed to the vet for emergency surgery and is now resting, according to a social media post.

The shooting happened near a truck stop along U.S. 411 near Tellus Drive in Cartersville, according to police.

ORIGINAL STORY: Manhunt continues for kidnapping suspect accused of shooting K-9 in Bartow County

SKYFOX 5 flew over the scene around 5:30 p.m. and saw a car in a retention pond near the gas station. Police officers appeared to be scouring the nearby woods.

Police sources say the driver of the car is believed to be a kidnapping suspect out of Floyd County.

A clerk at the truck stop told FOX 5 that he saw the suspect running into the woods. Officials say that the suspect then fired at the deputy and K-9 officer who were chasing him. The deputy was not struck, but the K-9 officer was hit.

Multiple agencies joined the search for the suspect, who has not been identified, but he has not been captured as of early Friday morning.

Athos is not the first K-9 officer to be injured or killed this year in metro Atlanta and North Georgia.

A K-9 officer named Kilo was shot in the line of duty in late August in Coweta County. The dog was shot while trying to apprehend an armed man after a high speed chase and crash. 

A teenager and a police K-9 named Waro were killed in early September after an encounter in Clayton County. 

Another K-9 officer, also named Athos, died in August because of cancer. He had been scheduled to medically retire by the end of the year, but died before being able to do so. He was a member of the Cobb County Sheriff's Office.