RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Animal control officials say a retired police dog wandering a neighborhood attacked a man in Southern California after he gave it a bowl of water because he thought it looked thirsty.
John Welsh, spokesman for the Riverside County Animal Services Department, said the man's family members were forced to stab the German shepherd with steak knives when the dog wouldn't release the victim and dragged him into a street Sunday.
The 20-year-old man was hospitalized with bites to his bicep, leg and ankle. The dog, which served with a Southern California law enforcement agency, was euthanized due to the severity of its injuries.
Welsh sayd the dog immediately obeyed a responding animal control officer, possibly responding to his uniform.
The dog's owner was found and interviewed by animal control officers.