They say a dog is man's best friend.

And it seems like one female Doberman has left a huge impact on many lives in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Died after playing football

Varsha, an eight-year-old police service dog, died on July 6, 2019.

She passed away severe blood loss after injuring her jaw while playing football on July 2, 2019.

One of five police service dogs at the Vizianagaram Police Department, Varsha was the best performing service dog of her squad

According to a report by The News Minute (TNM), Additional Superintendent Narasimha Rao said:

"She was one of the most excellent performing dogs in our squad of five. She was trained for combing operations, where she had helped track down many extremist hideouts amidst heavy firing."

Solved more than 136 crimes

Having been part of the police department since she was barely three months old, Varsha had helped to solve more than 136 cases in her lifetime.

She also helped crack high-profile cases. One involved the murder of a man who was killed by his son-in-law in Cheepurupalli.

Another was the case of a woman who filed a missing person's report on her husband. The police subsequently found that he was murdered by her.

Earned INR10,000 a month

As a police service dog, Varsha used to earn INR10,000 (S$197.60) a month, which contributed to her upkeep as well as daily supplies.

As police service dogs retire at the age of 12, the police department had planned to give her a monthly pension once she would reach that age.

Unfortunately, Varsha passed away before that.

"She was like our family member"

On July 8, Varsha was cremated and given a full state funeral and floral tributes from the officials.

Varsha's trainer, Srinivas Rao told TNM:

"The entire department is mourning. She was with us for 8 years. She was the first canine that the Vizianagaram district police department got from the training centre in Hyderabad. She wasn’t just a dog, she was like our family member."

Top image from The News Minute.