Pit bull owners often swear their dangerous dogs get an unfair bad rap, but a pit bull was so vicious it suddenly attacked a police dog in Covina.
The attack came as the police dog “Jarno” and his handler were walking on their way to a fundraising event.
Jarno will be OK after his police officer handler used a Taser on the attacking canine, but authorities began a hunt for the pit bull that was wearing a collar when it ran off.
The police dog, who joined the force in 2015, was with his handler, Officer Ryan Rasmussen, about 4:30 p.m. Thursday when the K-9 was attacked in the 500 block of East Roland Street, near Barranca Avenue, Covina police Sgt. John Zumwalt said.
[symple_googlemap title=”Dog attack” location=”500 East Roland Street, Covina, Ca” height=”300″ zoom=”13″]
Jarno suffered a puncture wound to his abdomen and was treated by a veterinarian who administered antibiotics, Zumwalt said, adding that the dog required no stitches.
“He’s fine; back to work,” Zumwalt said.
Jarno, the first police dog to join the force in 10 years, did not retaliate when attacked, he said.
“We train our dogs not to fight with other dogs,” Zumwalt said.
The dark gray pit bull fled the scene and was not located, he said.
Rasmussen was not injured.
The officer used a Taser to ward off the attacking dog, described as a 70-pound, dark gray American pit bull that was wearing a collar, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
Anyone with information about the pit bull was asked to call Covina police at (626) 384-5595.
–City News Service