Story highlights A dog ran away from the scene of a car accident in Pennsylvania on Sunday

Police Officer Nick Ague chased the dog for two miles and carried her back to her owner

A photo posted on the department's Facebook page has more than 6,000 "likes," 1,300 "shares"

Fellow patrol officer describes Ague as "big animal lover"

A Pennsylvania patrol officer who chased down a German shepherd following a car accident is being called a hero by some. A photo of officer Nick Ague carrying the 75-pound dog over his shoulder was posted to the South Londonderry Township Police Facebook page on Sunday getting more than 6,000 "likes" and 1,300 "shares." In the comments people praise Ague's compassion for animals and thank him for his dedication.

Despite the sudden Internet fame, Ague is "keeping a level head," said fellow patrolman Scott Firestone.

On Sunday, Ague responded to an accident involving at least one vehicle in Palmyra, the department posted on Facebook. Two dogs in the vehicle escaped. One was captured right away but Mya, the German shepherd, began running, Firestone said.

Ague, himself a dog owner, gave chase. Mya and Ague continued running for about two miles, Firestone said. When Mya finally came to a stop, Ague realized her paws were injured -- presumably from running across hot asphalt and the rough terrain, the department posted on Facebook. Ague scooped up Mya up and walked her back to her owner's vehicle as a fellow patrolman snapped their photo.

Firestone said Mya is at home recovering and doing well. He said Ague is taking advantage of the incident to add momentum to his continuing effort to start a K9 unit within the small police department.

"If you look on our Facebook page you can see we've searched for lost hikers and things like that," Firestone said, but "by far this is the most attention anyone in our department has received."