K9.

A policeman in Houston is mourning the loss of his Czech-German shepherd, who was killed in the line of duty after more than three years on the job, reports The Houson Chronicle. The dog, Blek, ran into a marsh while pursuing burglary suspects. When the faithful canine didn't return, Harris County Precinct 4 deputy constable Ted Dahlin and other officers began searching for him. "My lieutenant and sergeant found him," Dahlin said. "My sergeant met me before I got there, held me back, and gave me a hug. I knew at that point what happened." One of the suspects had strangled Blek to death. According to Dahlin, the 5-year-old dog was his best friend. "He was doing his job," Dahlin told the ...

Flickr/Svadilfari On Nov. 9, a police dog bit a man who was trying to defend his home from a would-be burglar. Tim Crossan, of Eugene, Ore. had just broken his hand on the face of the intruder when police, responding to a call, flooded into his home and ordered their K9 unit to attack Mr. Crossan. In the confusion, the burglar escaped and Mr. Crossan was bitten twice. The police have yet to apologize for this incident, although they described it as "unfortunate." At least they went on to say that Crossan, who had protected his wife and children, was "heroic." Dogs have been used officially to help police officers since the late 1850s in Germany, when they were first employed purely as a ...

Photo: Officer Steve Timmons, Aberdeen Police Department Poor Nitro. The six year-old German Shepherd police dog tried not to take it personally when he was laid off from the Aberdeen Police Department last month. Police Chief Bob Torgerson blamed it on budget cuts, which forced him to eliminate Nitro's job, which costs the department $12,000 annually, reports the Seattle Times. Most of that $12,000 is comprised of overtime pay for K-9 police officer Steve Timmons to care for Nitro during off hours. Timmons offered to donate his time and work for free, but the department, union rules and federal and state labor laws made that an impossibility. Instead, after Nitro was laid off, Officer ...