Teenager charged with attacking police dog with machete
A police dog that was attacked with a machete is on track to "make a full recovery"after being allegedly attacked with a machete.
A 16-year old from Birmingham has been charged with possessing a bladed weapon and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected (service) animal.
The teen, who can't be named for legal reasons, will appear at Birmingham Youth Court next month. His bail includes a condition to live and sleep at a specified address and to abide by a 7pm-7am curfew.
PC Paul Hopley, a West Midlands Police dog handler, was chasing suspected burglars in the early hours of Saturday (14 November) morning when his dog, Stark, was attacked.
As he was going through allotments near Larch Avenue in Handsworth PC Hopley recalls hearing the 'thud' what he thought was a stick coming down on his 3-year-old dog's head.
It was only as he got closer he realised Stark was in fact being attacked using a rusty machete.
PC Hopley tackled the knifeman to the floor, and with the help of his dog managed to detain him.
The German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois cross had to have surgery to stitch up the wounds on either side of his face.
Vets say that he was lucky that the blade missed his eye and he should make a full recovery.
Pc Hopley said: “When I saw the wounds so close to Stark’s eye I feared the worst. I thought he could have been blinded in that eye.
“We’ve been together for 18 months now and are very much a team. We look out for each other. Stark did a great job and it’s a huge relief he’s going to be OK."
“He’s not going to be happy about having to take two weeks off at home to recover. He’s a bundle of energy and even on our rest days is climbing the walls wanting to get back to work.
“And I’m afraid he’s going to have to wear a ‘cone of shame’ until the cuts heal as otherwise he’s going to try and scratch out the stitches!”
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