JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A police service dog got out of a fenced area and bit three people, and during the incident Saturday, the K-9 was stabbed, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
Just after 2 p.m., JSO said, police responded to Forest Boulevard in the Windy Hills neighborhood, where they were told that three people had been bitten as they tried to leash a loose dog and locate the animal’s owner.
All three people were taken to area medical facilities to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
During the incident, according to JSO, the dog was stabbed by one of the people and required treatment from a veterinarian.
Police said they learned that the dog was a police service dog owned by JSO and that the K-9 was able to get free from the fenced area where he is kenneled.
“JSO will continue to review this incident administratively in an effort to ascertain further details leading up to three citizens and one of its K9s being injured,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Saturday night.
News4JAX spoke with a local veterinarian who says it is rare for veterinarians to hear about something like this happening.
“Usually, these dogs, these police K-9s are super well trained. You know, very, very professional dogs,” said Dr. Hugh McClelland, owner of Durbin Creek Animal Hospital and veterinarian. “So, you know, something must have happened to confuse the dog.”
The severity of the JSO K-9′s injuries was not immediately known.