Trooper

A traumatized military canine embarks on one last mission when his family’s special needs daughter is kidnapped, leaving him to partner with her service dog for an action-filled search and rescue through an unforgiving world. Trooper is an aging Belgian Malinois shepherd, retired from working with the Army Rangers his whole life. He now lives out his days with a new family, relaxing, going for trail runs, and taking long naps; an ideal life for easing his worsening post-traumatic stress. It was Hana, their young special needs girl with a passion for animals, who adopted him after his injury in combat. Her snarky young service dog Lily remains a daily thorn in his side. But this new peaceful chapter of his life is cut violently short when Hana is abducted during a home invasion. Trooper and Lily follow the kidnappers scent left behind at the scene leading them to a criminal haven in the woods, a bar that is anything but. At first it appears they can get Hana back without anyone knowing … that is until a bull-headed young K9 shepherd tracks them there, determined to do things by the book. The kidnappers release a champion fight dog to eliminate the K9, wrecking Trooper and Lily’s chance of recovering Hana when the kidnappers manage to narrowly escape. In pursuit of Hana once again, Trooper and Lily cut through some badlands in an attempt to keep up with the kidnappers, but someone else catches up with them first … the champion fight dog. Lily and the fight dog find themselves caught in traps when a seemingly good Samaritan frees them and loads them into a van, taking them to a familiar house; a couple famous for heart-tugging animal rescue videos. However, their operation is a sham and the animal rescues are cruel fakes with stolen animals. They find an injured fox cub and Trooper steals a chance to secure their escape. They’ve lost the scent, but the fox cub says they’re looking for a farm, one his mother will guide them to. On their way to return the injured fox cub to its den, Trooper comes across a house he has only seen in pictures while in Afghanistan; his former handlers house, left derelict, seized by the bank after dying in combat. His wife and child, long gone. He opens up about his handler’s death, eventually coming across an old pile of his belongings in the garage. He finally makes peace with his death and finds his old deployment kit. The fox cub’s mother returns to thank them and guide them to the farm. The farm turns out to be a trap. He finds himself locked in an old hunting cage. While the others scramble to do something, the young bull-headed K9 shepherd appears, this time with her Officer by her side. The Officer makes his move to arrest the kidnappers, but a shootout ensues, injuring him. Traffickers arrive to collect Hana and a dozen other girls while Lily works to soothe Hana out of her panicked state. To buy her time, Trooper takes on the traffickers and last remaining kidnapper, succeeding, but ultimately giving his life. He soon finds himself in the company of his old handler, reunited once again in death, together again at last. Months later, Hana makes a video of his story that travels the world. They visit the SOF K9 memorial to see the laying of Trooper’s paver stone, having learned about his past as a special forces canine, and are joined by his old Ranger squad where she reads a heartfelt letter to him as a goodbye and thank you.