A Georgia deputy shot and killed a police dog that inadvertently bit him instead of the man whom authorities had been chasing, the county sheriff’s department said this week.

Deputies, including Cpl. Brandon Kilgore and his partner, K-9 Verro, were responding to a domestic dispute in Dallas around noon Friday when the suspect ran off, the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office said in a Monday statement.

Kilgore spotted the suspect jumping over fences and running through yards in an attempt to get away, authorities said.

So he stopped his patrol car, got out and took off after the suspect — leaving Verro behind because the departmental criteria to deploy the dog had not been met, the sheriff’s office said.

But Verro, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois, was determined to get to work and help his handler — whatever way he could. So he squeezed through the partially open kennel door that separates his vehicle kennel from the driver’s compartment, which allowed him to crawl into the front of the SUV.

Then he inched his way out of the patrol vehicle, a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe, through a window that was partially down. No deputies were aware that he was on the loose, police said.

Upon spotting Verro, one deputy sprinted away from him, unaware that he was a police dog.

Without Kilgore’s direction, Verro could not tell the difference between deputies and suspects, so he latched onto the back of the deputy’s leg — following his training to bite and hold until commanded to release.

The deputy was unable to free his leg from Verro’s jaws — so he followed his training and shot the dog with his service weapon, killing him, according to police.

“It wasn’t until a short time later that other Deputies realized that the deceased animal was K-9 Verro,” authorities said. “Unfortunately, it was too late for K-9 Verro and he passed away on the scene.”

The bitten deputy had “some injuries,” but is on the mend, police said.

“Being a former K-9 handler, I know how special the bond is between a handler and his dog,” Sheriff Gary Gulledge said in a statement. “The emotional grief everyone is going through, including the Deputy who was bitten, has been overwhelming. Please keep Corporal Kilgore, his family, the K-9 Unit, our injured Deputy, and the Sheriff’s Office in your prayers as we all go through this difficult time.”