Dubbed “Corporal Oliveira”, the dog was found by Rio police officer Cristiano Oliveira in 2019 near his police station abandoned, injured and hungry.

“I gave him food, water. It took a while for him to get used to me,” said the human Oliveira, who took the dog under his wing and later gave him his name.

Within a few days, Corporal Oliveira – the pooch – started following his new master around the precinct. Oliveira eventually moved to another precinct, and his loyal companion accompanied him.

The dog – decked out in a police uniform with a toy gun strapped in and sunglasses – has now become the official mascot of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police’s 17th battalion, patrolling alongside his officer and running beside motorbikes.

He even has a miniature toy firearm attached to his uniform.

“I took a coat, a police shirt, and put it on him as a joke. I took a picture and sent it to our station’s roster groups and posted them there,” said Oliveira.

“And then the joke started going viral.”

The furry corporal has his own Instagram account with more than 117,000 followers. Fans clamour for photos of the hound standing atop police armoured vehicles or sticking his head out the window of a patrol car.

“If I don’t post a picture for three days people are already demanding, ‘Where is Oliveira?’ ‘Where did Oliveira go?’” the officer added, laughing.