Hundreds of people gathered in Warren Tuesday, to pay their respects to a K9 officer, who died in a training accident, last week.

That number included dozens of law enforcement officers.

It was a somber ceremony inside the Warren High School auditorium, where hundreds gathered to honor Choper, a 5-year-old German Shepherd who has served with the Conewango Township Police Department for the past three years, “Choper was a dog that you could approach and you could pet, he was also a dog that would do his duty, when it was time for him to run down the bad guy, he would run down the bad guy,” said Chief Jason Peters of the Conewango Township Police Department.

Choper died when he fell off the roof of a building during a training exercise with his handler, Officer Scott Neiswonger.

Neiswonger created the department's K9 program, and is devastated by the loss.

Officers from law enforcement agencies from all over came to pay their respects, many were there along with their K9 partners.

Sergeant Alison Nowacki, of the King George's County, Virginia Sheriff Department, traveled more than six and a half hours to be there on Tuesday, “I know how important it is as a law enforcement family that we support each other, especially K9 units. It’s hard for normal civilians, even for other people in the police department, to understand the connection that us handlers have with our canines, so it’s just to show support,” said Sgt. Nowacki.

Some may say, 'It's just a dog.' But K9 handlers spend 24 hours day at work and home with their K9 partners, these police dogs are willing to lay down their lives for their partner, and they form a bond that is everlasting.