Posts tagged "PoliceDog"

Josh Hartnett has the cutest traveling companion. The hunky star was recently caught going through security at LAX with his furry new friend. We wouldn't blame TSA for giving the puppy a bit of a pat-down.

One Chicago police officer's retirement was slightly overshadowed by the retirement of her short, hairy partner. Sandra La Porta gave 31 years to the job, but her partner, a police dog named Lakos, put in 63... in dog years. Plus, Lakos brought a rubber bone to the ceremony. No one can compete with that.

Old dogs might provide insight into new tricks to improve human health. Purdue University is studying some unusually old rottweilers that have dodged cancer and other common diseases to determine whether the dogs' health can help humans live longer.

Blind woman terrified as her two dogs were attacked in a California barn... by a rattlesnake. Fortunately, she and her mother were able to get them to the vet in time to save their lives with an injection of anti-venom and other treatments.

Five years after Iggy the Lab went for a walk by himself, he's back home. Iggy was just 18 months old when he took off, and his owner was only seven, but now that he's home, it's like he never left. And he never would have returned at all if it weren't for the fact that he was microchipped!

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 Houston Chronicle. "Am I happy about what happened? Of course not. But I'm proud that my dog did his job." Dahlin added that a canine's job is to step in front of danger. "I learned how to train him and he learned to train me," Dahlin said. "He was the smarter of the two of us, I can guarantee you that."

The suspects involved in the pursuit are in custody, including 17-year-old Cornelious Harrell, who strangled Blek from behind when the dog attacked Harrell's younger brother.

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 deterrent, used only for their teeth and growls. However, the informal use of dogs in law enforcement goes back to the Middle Ages and most likely even before that. These days, dogs help officers primarily with their sense of smell, which is so powerful that they can detect scents one-hundred-millionth fainter than the boundaries of human perception. They can easily find drugs, bombs, criminals, and corpses, even when criminals have taken extra measures to mask odors. So although the police can often make mistakes, police dogs do not. They remain an integral part of public safety.