A police dog tracked a suspect into the mud. He couldn't resist licking his face

A Pasco County Sheriff's Office K-9 tracked a man on the run through a swamp Tuesday and tried to clean his face as deputies arrested him.

According to the sheriff's office, deputies saw a vehicle moving at a high rate of speed on southbound U.S. 41 that was involved in a chase in Hernando County on Tuesday. The driver slowed after nearly hitting deputies in a short pursuit. The chase ended when the vehicle became disabled in Land O' Lakes.

The driver, Paul Smith, ran into a densely wooded, swampy area but K-9 Knox, deputy Rob Wilkins and Cpl. Andrew Denbo found him nearly submerged in mud, according to the sheriff's office. They were nearly a mile into the woods when they found him, officials said.

"K-9 Knox did a really good job, brought us right to him," Wilkins said at a news conference Wednesday.

In the video, Smith can be heard telling deputies who were asking him to show both his hands that one of them was stuck under a root. Wilkins said the mud in the area was between waist and chest deep.

As deputies attempt to handcuff Smith, K-9 Knox starts licking Smith's face.

Several minutes later and with the help of multiple deputies, they were able to extricate Smith from the mud. He was arrested on charges of fleeing to elude, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and violation of probation.

The sheriff's office notified Hernando County officials of Smith's arrest.

"The dog's motivated to track and find him, we're motivated to catch him," Wilkins said.

This story was originally published April 18, 2018 at 2:15 PM with the headline "A police dog tracked a suspect into the mud. He couldn't resist licking his face."