They began to assemble in Mobile, just before 10... scores of law enforcement officers from across the Gulf Coast. Each here to honor an officer's life taken in the line of duty.

Moments later, men and women clad in uniforms from different departments, standing at attention as that officer’s adopted family carried his remains to a waiting car for the ride back to Pascagoula.

In that box... Pascagoula K-9 officer Exo... killed last week while trying to apprehend a murder suspect in nearby Moss Point, Mississippi.

The suspect was captured, but not before firing two shots that wounded Exo... he was brought to MedVet in Mobile for emergency treatment, but couldn't be saved.

But, as is the case with most police dogs, there’s a family, not just the handler, waiting at home.

"To them, it's just a pet,” says Pascagoula Police Capt. Chris Weeks. “They do realize that it's a tool of law enforcement, to them it's just the family pet. And, again, it makes it that much harder when something like this happens."

Now some of you might be saying, why all of this for a dog?

Well, if you're in law enforcement, you know, a K-9 officer is more than just a dog.

"The loyalty and dedication and duty you get from a canine is just unparalleled," says Mobile Police Lieutenant. John Angle. He's worked with K-9s in the department's special operations unit... and he has a soft spot in his heart for the devotion they bring to the table.

"A canine,” he says, “is the one animal that will love their handler, love their owner, a human, more than they love themselves. And they will lay down their life for a human without a second thought."

Capt. Weeks echoes the sentiment.

"While a dog is a tool that we utilize for law enforcement, you become attached to it. I was a former K-9 handler myself. Those are tough decisions. Those are hard decisions. Because these dogs become part of the family... it's very tough and when the outcome's like this it's that much harder."

And so, Exo received a send-off today, a send-off worthy of a police officer. Because, whether he knew it or not, to this extended family, he was all that and more.