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When his longtime K9 partner began barking incessantly on Wednesday, a Chester County police chief knew something was terribly wrong. Such behavior was out of character for Ricky, an 11-year-old German shepherd with an outstanding temperament, West Caln Township Police Chief Curt A. Martinez said. Hours later, after visits to the veterinarian and the animal hospital, Martinez learned the reason for the dog's distress: a softball-size tumor in his spleen.

Ronald J. Chenette, convicted six months ago in the death of a police dog, knew he was going to prison for life well before Friday's sentencing hearing in Clark County Superior Court. Everyone else knew, too. Ronald J. Chenette, convicted six months ago in the death of a police dog, knew what was going to happen well before Friday's sentencing hearing in Clark County Superior Court. Everyone else knew, too. The sentence was dictated by a "three strikes" law that locks away felons for life after three violent crimes. The absence of suspense, then, maybe explains why nobody who didn't...

OCEANSIDE ---- A pursuit suspect from Oceanside stopped his vehicle midspan on the Coronado Bridge, exited the car and jumped off the bridge at about 7:25 p.m.Monday, along with an Oceanside police dog that tried to stop him, according to California Highway Patrol officer Larry Landeros. The man lived, but the dog died. The pursuit began in Oceanside at 6:44 p.m after police suspected the driver was intoxicated. During the pursuit, the man was involved in a hit-and-run crash, authorities said.Highway Patrol officers joined the pursuit southbound on Interstate 5 as the car approached the Coronado Bridge, Landeros said. The...

You really couldn't make it up... a Welsh police force is training its dogs to headbutt criminals rather than bite them, because politically correct - 'PC' - bosses are afraid that allowing the dogs to bite criminals will infringe their human rights! The policy, devised by North Wales Police, comes as a result of increased compensation claims from members of the public who have been bitten by police dogs. Officers say the toothless tactic provides a safer way to tackle uncooperative offenders, and dog squads may soon adopt it across the country. But critics say it is another example of...

A dog-taunting charge has put a North Side man behind bars on $100,000 bond. Kenneth King, 23, is charged with taunting Benny, the German shepherd partner of Pittsburgh police Officer Ron Absted, according to an arrest affidavit. Police said King screamed and swore at the dog Sunday afternoon outside a Cedar Avenue gas station and threatened to cut the dog with a knife. "He's never broken the law before, so I don't think he realizes how serious this situation is," said King's mother, Annette Cash, of the North Side. "But to give him a bail that high? People have been...

..... But then Ajax the attack alsatian appeared and Omon's cuddly side suddenly shone forth. An officer placed a cat on the ground just yards away from the panting dog. ......

A Gilford police dog fell from a second-story window while searching for a robbery suspect during the weekend, but still got its man. Police were looking for a man who reportedly robbed a car driver at knifepoint Saturday night. Police say Michael Mount, 30, pulled a knife on the driver of a car in which he was a passenger, forced her off the road and stole her purse. Police called in their dog, Agbar, to track Mount. They say Agbar fell from a second-story window while on the hunt, but was not hurt, and led officers to Mount, who was...

CHARDON, Ohio (AP) -- Though she's only a 6-pound Chihuahua-rat terrier mix who looks like she belongs in Paris Hilton's purse, Midge has the will, skill and nose of a 100-pound German shepherd.

Seven-month-old, 6-pound Midge (right) plays with her colleague: 7-year-old, 125-pound Brutus (Left) ----------------------------------------------------- HARDON, Ohio (Aug. 3) - Though she's only a 6-pound Chihuahua-rat terrier mix who looks like she belongs in Paris Hilton's purse, Midge has the will, skill and nose of a 100-pound German shepherd. The newest recruit for the Geauga County Sheriff Department's K-9 unit could very well be the nation's smallest drug-sniffing pooch. "Good girl," Sheriff Dan McClelland says, praising the 7-month-old, tail-wagging puppy, during a recent training exercise. McClelland began training Midge for drug-detecting duties when she was just 3 months old, after reading...

February 8, 2006 UPDATE – K9 DAKOTA MEMORIAL The public is invited to a memorial for Puyallup Police K9 Dakota. It scheduled for 1:30 PM Monday, February 13th at the Puyallup Church of the Nazarene 1026 7th Ave SW; Puyallup. Citizens who wish to make donations to the Puyallup Police Department K-9 fund should contact the PPD at (253) 841-5415. Original Release: Puyallup Police K9 Dakota was killed in the line of duty at approximately 8:40 PM last night, February 5th. As members of the Metro K9 unit, Dakota and his partner, Officer Don Bourbon, responded to assist Pierce County...

Long Beach -- A parolee and a police dog were killed in a shootout near downtown, police said. The incident began around 11:15 p.m. Sunday when a parolee ran from police who went to check on him at his home and shot at officers who chased him, said Sgt. David Cannan, a police spokesman. The man was a known gang member in his early 20s on parole for a robbery conviction, he said. Police found the man hiding under the porch of a nearby house, Cannan said. He ignored officers' orders to come out and shot the police dog that...

Pleasanton (SF Chronicle) -- Pleasanton police are mourning the death of a beloved German shepherd that died Tuesday night after apparently jumping from a balcony during a training exercise, officials said today. Pasco, a 4-year-old police dog who'd been on the force for one year, fell two stories during a routine exercise in which he was sent to search a building, said police spokesman Sgt. Mark Elerick. Officer Tim Martens, Pasco's handler, rushed the dog to an animal hospital in Dublin, but veterinarians could not save him, Elerick said.

By KATHLEEN CULLINAN BRADENTON -- A Bradenton man is suing the city of Palmetto because he says his face was mauled by a police dog as he hid from officers in a swamp. Eric Pace, 19, was arrested for driving with a suspended license on Jan. 22, 2003. Police chased him because they said Pace was driving a stolen car. Pace was hiding in a swamp near the 3500 block of 10th Street West when Brix, the dog, was sent after him. Brix bit him on the face, head, shoulders and arms, according to the lawsuit. Pace claims police...

A Melbourne police dog was recovering Wednesday after being repeatedly bitten by a stray pit bull that jumped inside a patrol car, according to a report. A patrolman shot the stray dog in the chest after wrestling it out of the back of the caged patrol car with other officers, officials told Local 6 News partner Florida Today. A veterinarian later put the wounded pit bull -- which had no tag or collar -- to death. "It's an unfortunate situation but the dog was aggressive and ran past the officers and attacked the K-9. He could have bitten a bystander...

Police have collared the latest in technology by kitting out their firearms dogs with cameras. The miniature television camera and radio transmitter is fitted on to a harness and can be placed on the heads of Northumbria Police dogs. It means they can search buildings and relay the information back to officers.

<p>CHATTANOOGA — A Chattanooga Police Department K-9 officer was fired and two others were suspended after an internal affairs probe concluded they falsified police dogs' certifications.</p> <p>The investigation involved two drug-sniffing Belgian Malinois dogs, Casper and Viper, purchased last year for $7,000 apiece in South Carolina.</p>

Scooby, a beloved police dog, has landed in a nasty scuffle over whether he is fit to keep working for the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department after he mauled a neighbor dog and injured his own deputy handler. The issue has divided the department and unsettled the quiet Morgan Hill neighborhood where Scooby and deputy Julie Wilbanks live, and where the off-duty attack took place. Sheriff's officials, who placed Scooby on leave from the K-9 unit after the January attack, still don't know what to do with the dog -- but they know one thing. ``The dog is not going...

<p>Richard "Tyson" Dillon got away with barking.</p> <p>Until Thursday, the 25-year-old Menlo Park man was facing possible jail time and a hefty fine for barking at a Palo Alto police dog. Prosecutors, however, decided to drop the case.</p> <p>"Even though what the suspect did here was stupid, reckless and irresponsible, I don't think it warranted criminal prosecution, or the necessary expenditure of community resources," said Jay Boyarsky, supervising deputy district attorney for Santa Clara County.</p>

MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. -- A police dog is accused of racial profiling. The 5-year-old German shepherd named Dolpho is the lone police dog in McKees Rocks. Dolpho can tell the difference between marijuana, heroin and cocaine. But a borough councilwoman said the dog targets blacks and should be put to death. Dolpho made a mistake last week. While a K-9 officer wrestled with a drug suspect, a button on his belt inadvertently opened a door to the K-9 wagon. The dog bolted out and bit a 9-year-old boy on the leg, and not the suspect. The boy is black. Police...

------------------------------------------------------------------------Posted on Fri, May. 31, 2002 Police dog dies after being left in cruiserWoodrow, a German shepherd, died last Friday of heat exhaustion, authorities said. Internal Affairs is investigating.By Thomas J. Gibbons Jr.Inquirer Staff WriterA city police dog died last week after being accidentally left inside a patrol car for more than four hours with the windows up, officials said yesterday.When found shortly after 12:30 p.m. last Friday, Woodrow, a 5-year-old German shepherd assigned to Officer Joseph Arrison of the Canine Unit, was already dead, police said.Arrison, a 28-year veteran who has been in the Canine Unit for 15 years,...