Police dog stabbed 27 times in brutal California attack
Aros sustained the injuries after chasing down a suspect, refusing to let go in spite of its many wounds
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A San Diego police dog that was stabbed 27 times after hounding down a suspect is slowly recovering at its handlers home.
Aros, a seven-year-old Belgian Malinois, was stabbed repeatedly in the head by a landlord that had been accused of attacking a tenant with a baseball bat, The Daily Beast reports.
The 9 December incident saw the suspect in question attempt to flee on foot, but the Escondido police department hound didn't let him get away for too long. After the assilant climbed on-top of a two story garage, Officer Chad Moore sent Aros in persuit.
The dog jumped up, and quickly latched onto his leg, preventing the landlord from escaping. In responce, Aros was stabbed repeatedly, but somehow managed to hold onto the man’s leg.
“What was pretty amazing to me, and I’ve been involved with canines for 20 years, is the dog just held on,” said Lt. Mark Petersen, who oversees the department’s K-9 unit. “He did his job. He held onto the guy while being stabbed 27 times until the officers were able to get to him safely,” Officer Moore toldThe Daily Beast.
“We don’t know yet whether he will be able to return to service because we don’t know how much damage was done to his snout. That’s his moneymaker — to be able to sniff stuff. It is just a waiting game at this point,” Mr Petersen told the LA Times.
Moore said the dog’s nose also has to be structurally strong enough to endure police work. “They are resilient animals. Look at Aros and what he went through. He still wants to go out. He still has his energy,” the San Diego officer added.
Further to this, a GoFundMe page has also been set up to help pay for and cover the heroic pup’s medical bills.
As of Wednesday, the page had reached a total of $13,000 in donations, which will be used to try and nurse Aros back to full health. While a return to the police force may not be possible for the dog – due to the amount of damage sustained to its snout - Aros has already made a remarkable recovery that few could have foreseen.