BOISE, Idaho — The police dog, shot along with two Boise officers Friday as they worked to apprehend a violent suspect, went home with his handler one day after surgery and had appeared headed for a full recovery.

Jardo was a star attraction at a vigil for police officers Tuesday night, and Chief Bill Bones told the crowd Jardo was expected to defy initial expectations and return to work on “light duty.”

But one day later, Jardo suddenly became ill and his handler brought him to WestVet. where he died late Wednesday of a heart attack caused by internal bleeding from his injuries, Dr. Jeff Brourman, a veterinarian at WestVet who helped treat Jardo, said at a Thursday afternoon press conference. In a police news release, WestVet said two surgeons worked to save his life, but he had lost too much blood.

The board for the Idaho Peace Officers’ Memorial, where Tuesday’s vigil was held, is considering adding a separate memorial at the Meridian site to honor fallen police dogs. Board president Mike Johnson said Thursday that the idea, still in its early stages, was discussed Monday night, when Jardo was still expected to recover.

Jardo will get a memorial service in line with what any other officer would recieve, Police Chief Bill Bones said. The details of that service are being worked out and will be released soon, a department spokeswoman said.

“Jardo served our community, and though we were blessed with these few extra days to share with him, he ultimately gave his life in the protection of fellow officers,” Bones said. “The support and prayer that we have seen from this community has carried us through and continues to carry us through.”

Jardo, who joined BPD in 2013, was rushed to WestVet, a Garden City trauma veterinary hospital, immediately after the shooting Friday. Despite losing a lung, he was out of the hospital the next day. On Wednesday, he visited the police station, “seeking out BPD members for every bit of petting he could obtain,” according to a Boise police news release.

On Tuesday, he attended a vigil honoring Cpl. Kevin Holtry and Cpl. Chris Davis, who were wounded in the shootout, and police officers in general. The crowd at the vigil chanted “Jardo, Jardo” when handler Shane Williams brought the Belgian Malinois out.

Since the news of Jardo’s death, some have suggested his name be added to the wall honoring fallen Idaho officers at the memorial, but Johnson said the K-9’s death, while widely mourned, doesn’t fall into the same category. But it does make it more likely, he said, that an idea already under discussion for a separate K-9 memorial on the site will come to fruition.

Requirements for that memorial would parallel those for the human memorial, he said: Any police dog that died from injuries received in the line of duty.

At least three or four police Idaho dogs fit that requirement, he said, including Jardo and Roscoe, the Emmett police dog who died when the police car he was riding in was rear-ended in July.