(Radio Iowa) – Cherokee County Sheriff Derek Scott has adopted a critically injured dog he helped rescue in late March. A woman called the sheriff’s office for help after spotting the injured dog in a ditch on a county road near Quimby. The dog was taken to a vet clinic in Cherokee, then transferred to an animal rescue service in Sioux City called Noah’s Hope.

“Initially, it kind of looked like he got hit by a car. He was laying in the ditch on his side. He looked in bad shape,” Scott says. “After we got him to Sioux City and Noah’s Hope did some examining and got him to a vet, they found he was actually shot in the front leg.” The dog’s leg had to be amputated. Animal shelter staff decided to name the dog Derek in honor of the sheriff who drove him to Sioux City for treatment, then the sheriff and his wife decided to adopt the dog.

“We had two other dogs in our house and he gets along with everybody,” he says. That includes Sheriff Scott, his wife, his kids — and even the cats.