LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A pet cat has died after it was bitten by a Lincoln police dog tracking men suspected of robbing a taxi cab driver at gunpoint.

Police officers and the canine were searching for the robbers on Friday.

Jackson says the officers lost trail of the robbery suspects and that the dog was trying to pick up a scent in the area. He says the cat ran into the dog on a porch.

The dog’s bite broke the cat’s back. Jackson says the cat died after it was taken to a private veterinary clinic.

Jackson says he doesn’t know if the cat died from the dog’s bite.