A clever dog has impressed police officers in his local area after alerting them of his own missing status when he ran away from home.

Cops were stunned when Chico the German Shepherd bounded into the station and handed himself in at around 3.30am on February 11. He was wearing a collar but the ID tag had fallen off, so officers called in animal control to check if he had a microchip to identify him.

As they waited for the team to arrive, officers played with the one-year-old dog and showered him in attention. But before animal control arrived, Chico decided he’d been missing long enough and headed home to his sleeping owner, Edward Alvarado, who had no idea he’d even been gone.

Officers at Odessa Police Department, in Texas, were so impressed by Chico they said he deserves a top job on the team.

A Facebook post read: ‘So…. this happy guy randomly strolled into the front desk of the Police Department last night. ‘We’re thinking he wanted to apply for a K-9 position after eliminating a Lassie type situation.

‘He was given lots of love and attention until he decided it was time for him to leave. He let himself out and after an exhausting search was not found.

‘We were relieved to learn he safely returned to his owner. Chico is welcome back anytime’. Sergeant Rusty Martin told The Dodo: ‘We were all excited to have him in the building. We had a tennis ball and threw it in the lobby for a bit. Everyone loved on him.’

Naturally, officers were disappointed when the dog ‘ran out as quick as he came in’ but were happy when Edward, who lives a mile away, contacted them to say he was safe and sound.

The owner had no idea about Chico’s adventure until his nephew texted him the next day to say he had seen pictures of him on Facebook. ‘He asked me, “Is that Chico?” I came outside and checked. But he was there already,’ Edward told NewsWest 9.

‘That’s kind of cool. He knows where to go!’