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A Miami-Dade judge has decided to drop the felony charge facing a former cop who is on trial for killing his K-9 companion. Allen Cockfield faced prison time if convicted of killing a police dog, which is a third degree felony. Cockfield, a 25-year veteran of the Miami-Dade police force, is accused of choking and then kicking Duke the K-9 repeatedly during an obedience training session in 2006. The two had been partners for six months before the incident happened. The judge ruled Cockfield didn't intend to kill Duke, despite his violent actions. The former cop still faces animal cruelty...

Sometimes the good guys win without a lot of trouble or effort on their part.  Consider this story out of Fife Washington. A little over a week ago on July 8th, a couple of criminals were loading cocaine into their vehicle, while unknown to them they were being watched by local police.  When the police had enough to bust the dealers, they began approaching the vehicle.  Unfortunately the police were not as stealthy as they should have been because the drug dealers were able to take off in their vehicle.  With the cops in hot pursuit the drug dealers...

How LOST should have ended... Dream of the yellow dog

Police dogs are extraordinary animals. A police K9 must be intelligent, brave, loyal and dedicated. Future police dogs are selected with care. Prospective K9 handlers are chosen from an elite group of experienced patrol officers. There are times however, when a dog just doesn’t quite make the grade. Some of these dogs end up in civilian homes. Life with one is an Experience. After a series of odd twists of fate, I became the owner of a former K9. A dog can be disqualified from police service due to some physical problem that doesn’t affect the dog’s ability to be...

Loyal guide dog gets owner home from 120-mile journey before collapsing and dying By Daily Mail Reporter A loyal guide dog defied an massive tumour to get his owner home safely after a 120-mile trip before collapsing and dying. Comet the Labrador retriever braved his painful condition so that David Quarmby, 61, could get home safely from his train and bus journeys. Minutes after they arrived at Mr Quarmby's home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, from Birmingham, Comet collapsed and died while being given anaesthetic by a vet. Mr Quarmby said: 'He got me off the bus, across the road and...

GREENSBURG, Pa. -- A Pricedale man nicknamed "Big Dog" has been sentenced to jail, but was then immediately paroled, after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct for barking at a police dog. Norris Daniels, 57, entered the guilty plea Friday and was sentenced to two to 12 months in jail by a Westmoreland County judge. The judge immediately paroled Daniels, who had been jailed unable to post bond since his arrest on Jan. 27, and ordered Daniels to undergo a mental health evaluation. Monessen police said Daniels was taunting a police dog in the back of a police cruiser and kept...

Trial ordered for man accused of fatally choking puppy By Kelly Wheeler City News Service March 11, 2010 SAN DIEGO - A La Jolla man accused of choking his 10-week-old puppy -- which later died -- as punishment for barking and nipping his girlfriend on the nose must stand trial on two felony animal cruelty charges, a judge ruled today. David Hale Warner, 50, faces up to three years in prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney Garrett Randall. The defendant was on probation for domestic violence at the time of his arrest, the prosecutor said. Warner and his girlfriend...

A Slovenian who saved his three dogs from being put down for attacking humans was himself mauled to death by them, police said Wednesday.

SOUTH BEND — The South Bend Police Department is investigating whether officers behaved appropriately during a chase of a car theft suspect Sunday, a department official said. Some police at the scene allege Cpl. Scott Ross mishandled his canine and scuffled with Cpl. Joshua Morgan after Morgan tried to shoot the dog, South Bend police spokesman Capt. Phil Trent confirmed. "We're investigating what led to a shot (allegedly) being fired by an officer, what was the aftermath, and were all policies and procedures followed correctly," Trent said. According to a police report, Morgan began chasing a teenager driving a stolen...

Savage beagles terrorize East End By TAYLOR K. VECSEY January 31, 2010 Charlie Brown, watch your back -- a plague of vicious wild beagles has struck Long Island! These floppy-eared terrors are no lovable Snoopys -- they're abandoned hunting dogs that live in packs and have gone from humble pets to hounds from hell. Mattituck resident Dot Faszczewski came face to face with the canine menace two weeks ago, when she was set upon by a group of crazed, hungry beagles as she walked her pet dogs near her parents' Orient Point home. She said it was like a scene...

A Minneapolis K9 died after falling off the roof of a three-story building, during a possible burglary call. Police say officers were called to the 200-block of Hennepin Avenue South for a suspected burglary in progress, just after 7 a.m. Monday. The K9, named Chase, was called in to assist after police found evidence that the suspect was possibly still in the building. Chase and his handler, Officer Eric Lukes, were searching the roof when the dog fell and sustained grave injuries. "While Chase was running over to the edge, he leapt over the side of the wall and fell...

Southfield (WWJ) -- The FBI will hold a memorial for the K-9 killed during a shootout in Dearborn and the dog's name will be added to a memorial wall. Freddy was a nearly 3-year-old Belgian Malinois who was killed Wednesday during a gun battle between agents and Luqman Ameen Abdullah, described as the radical leader of a Sunni Islam group.

A German shepherd named Taz, who was almost 2 years old when he was assigned from the city police’s K-9 unit to do search and rescue at the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attack, has died. Taz was the last of the dogs involved in the attacks to still serve on the force. He died of cardiac arrest last Sunday, the Police Department said. Taz would have been 10 years old on Oct. 31 and had served in the Canine Emergency Service Unit, where his duties consisted of searching for evidence, suspects and missing persons. (The average age of...

Man escapes charges for barbecuing pet dog By Saeed Ahmed CNN (CNN) -- A man who roasted his pet dog to enjoy as a meal with his family and friends escaped prosecution after authorities in New Zealand determined the animal was killed humanely. "We were in a dilemma at seeing something we were fairly upset about -- but being in a position of being able to do absolutely nothing about it," said Garth Halliday, of the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, on Monday. The SPCA -- which investigates acts of animal cruelty and presses charges --...

Thursday, May 28, 2009 (05-27) 14:56 PDT ALAMEDA -- An Alameda police K-9 officer is under investigation after his dog died when he left it in his personal sports utility vehicle for several hours during a training session, authorities said Wednesday. The officer, whose name was not released, left the 6 1/2-year-old Belgian Malinois inside his SUV while attending a use-of-force training exercise May 5 on Lincoln Avenue, police Lt. Bill Scott said. The SUV had at least one window down for ventilation, Scott said. It also was not an unusually warm day - according to the National Weather Service,...

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...

A Chicago police dog named Bear should be given a new moniker: Houdini, his handler said. The German shepherd has been missing since Wednesday night after he was spooked by thunder and climbed a fence near the officer's Southwest Side home, Canine Unit Officer Rick King said.

/17/2009 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- It is often said a dog is a man's best friend. For a Joint Expeditionary Tasking, or JET, Airman here, his dog is not just a friend, but a tool that could mean life or death for servicemembers patrolling the Iraqi streets. Senior Airman William Bailey, a military working dog handler and JET Airman from the 732nd Air Expeditionary Group attached to the Army's 1st Calvary Division here, and Robby, a nine-year-old Belgian Malinois, work together to keep servicemembers safe. Robby's military working dog specialty is explosives detection. "My mission here is...

Officials say a K9 was shot and a suspect killed after an office-involved shooting Monday in St. Paul. The incident happened in the 1500 block of Iowa Avenue East on a report of an armed intoxicated man in an alley around 6 p.m., according to St. Paul Police. St. Paul Police spokesman Pete Panos says three officers responded and opened fire on 34-year-old Robert Jerome Jeske, of St. Paul. Jeske died at the scene. During the confrontation, the dog Boomer was shot. He was taken to the University of Minnesoeta were he underwent surgery and is in stable condition, according...

The castaway dog who swam SIX miles through shark-infested waters, then survived FOUR months on a desert island By Richard Shears Last updated at 5:27 PM on 06th April 2009 When Jan Griffith's beloved dog, Sophie Tucker fell overboard from her family's yacht she feared her pet had drowned. But Sophie Tucker, a grey and black cattle dog, wasn't going to give up that easily. The determined pet swam six miles through ferocious shark-infested seas to an island, where she survived for more than four months by hunting wild goats for food. The extraordinary story of the castaway hound emerged...