Zeus
German Shepherd/Alsatian mix
Inducted August 1985
Owned by Senior Officer Dave Koschel
One night in 1984, Austin police dog Zeus knocked down a fleeing car theft suspect just seconds after he was unleashed by his owner, Austin Police Officer Dave Koschel. As the two struggled, the suspect shot Zeus with a .357 magnum revolver. Despite the wound, the dog attacked again, leaping on the suspect’s arm just as the suspect fired at Officer Koschel at point-blank range.
Koschel said later that had Zeus not attacked the second time, the assailant’s bullet would not have struck him in the leg but in the torso area not covered by his bulletproof vest.
Zeus recovered and helped capture 106 felons before his death in February 1986 from an unrelated disease.
