Retired K9 nearly killed by intruder in Florida

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Quigley_Sharps, Nov 21, 2012.


  1. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    4f49ff55482faa634c1865e1f281913f.
    Retired K9 fights for his life
    Credits:

    WPEC News
    ws

    A retired K9 named "Drake," undoubtedly faced many harrowing situations during his career as a working police dog. However nothing put his life on the line like the event which took place inside of his own home this week.
    Drake, a German shepherd, is fighting for his life in Greenacres, Fla. following the home invasion which left him critically injured from multiple gunshots.
    According to Wednesday's CBS 12 News, the retired canine was shot multiple times after intruders broke in on Tuesday.
    It is believed that Drake may have had one of the intruder's hands in his mouth at the time that he was shot in light of some of his gunshot wounds.
    Right now, Drake is fighting for his life at the Simmons Veterinary Hospital.
    Veterinarians have discovered at least four bullet wounds in Drake's legs, neck and head. According to the veterinary staff, whoever was shooting at Drake was purposefully trying to kill him.
    Nothing was taken during the invasion, likely thanks to Drake's heroic defense of his home.
    His guardian, and former handler, is understandably angry at what has happened, but grateful that his dog is still alive.
    Little has been released about this crime in an effort to avoid jeopardizing the case.
    Anyone hoping to donate towards Drake's veterinary expenses can do so at the clinic where he is being treated. Please click here.
    Click here to watch news clip.
    If you would like to continue receiving the latest dog related news, tips and advice, please click the "Subscribe" icon which is located at the bottom of this column. It is free and anonymous to sign up.

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  2. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    Thats a good dog. he deserves to make it through this and live.
     
    Mountainman likes this.
  3. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

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    UPDATE: PBSO says a teen is in custody charged with hurting Drake. He wasn't alone, they are looking for two other teens. We'll have all of the details tonight at 11!

    PBSO have arrested someone who they say was involved in the shooting of Drake the retired K9 while they were breaking into the home of a trooper who now cares for him. Nothing about the man has been released. We are at PBSO headquarters waiting for the latest. We'll update you as soon as we get more.
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  4. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    291878_385660421511050_1295320143_n.

    Drake, who is still holding steady! Also included is more information about the arrest and suspect, plus a little insight behind the dog we all now care deeply about! ~Cheryl

    Drake washed out after a short career in law enforcement — “He didn’t like looking for drugs,” a former boss said — but last weekend, his bravery was on display. The 5-year-old German shepher
    d did not back down when pressed to defend his owner’s suburban West Palm Beach home. He was shot at least four times for his bravery.

    Drake this evening is struggling to heal after extensive surgery. His owner, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Bobby Boody, is holding on to hope that the dog who became a perfect fit for him will make a full recovery.

    Earlier this evening, Palm Beach County County sheriff’s investigators took a 16-year-old male into custody in connection with the shooting. The teen, whose name was not released because of his age, is facing charges of burglary while armed with a firearm and felony cruelty to animals

    Investigators tracked the 16-year-old down because he is wearing an ankle monitor. He is on probation through the Division of Juvenile Justice for burglary and grand theft.

    Detective Philip DiMola said the teen confessed to being the shooter. He told investigators he and two friends — also juveniles — knew the house belonged to a law-enforcement officer and targeted it because they believed there were guns and money inside.

    “He had no remorse,” DiMola said. “I asked him, ‘Did you think about that dog today?’ He said no.”

    Officers were still trying tonight to find the other two juveniles.

    Boody had just finished a shift late Sunday when he pulled into his driveway and noticed things amiss — including the absence of Drake’s persistent bark.

    He opened the door to his house on a bloody, chaotic mess.

    “Quite honestly, I expected to find the dog dead,” Boody, 36, said Wednesday afternoon.

    Instead, Boody found Drake on the floor beside his bed. “He was bleeding profusely and when he saw me, he attempted to stand,” said Boody, who lives alone and had to hoist the 100-pound dog into his car and speed him to the nearest emergency vet clinic after alerting authorities to the crime.

    A day later, Drake was transferred to Simmons Veterinary Clinic in suburban Lake Worth, where he underwent hours-long surgery.

    The wounds indicate Drake was shot at close range, said Ken Simmons, the veterinarian who cared for Drake. One shot cracked the bone of the dog’s brow, tearing a hole through his tongue, another bullet broke his front leg and yet another went through his hind quarters.

    The teen in custody told investigators that the dog walked into the master bedroom and that he fired at the animal out of fear, DiMola said. The dog whimpered and cried, but did not back off, prompting the teen to fire again, DiMola said.

    It appears Drake made a valiant stand at the house, Boody said.

    “He’s a tough dog — that’s for sure,” Boody said. “I’m confident that he’ll recover.”

    Drake worked for awhile as a patrol dog with another trooper. But when it became apparent that drug sniffing wasn’t his thing, he had to retire. That’s when Boody, a former handler in the department, stepped forward.

    “He needed a place to go, so I took him in,” said Boody, a trooper since 2001. Despite Drake’s early reputation as a difficult personality, the two hit it off well, Boody said: “He needed a strong personality.”

    It appears Drake was both tenacious and lucky. The dog was born on July 7, 2007, or 7/7/7, Boody noted.

    Boody’s boss, FHP Sgt. Randy Kraus, reflected on Drake’s short tenure: “He didn’t like looking for drugs … but he’s still got it in him.

    “Once a cop, always a cop.”

    By Sonja Isger, Julius Whigham II

    Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

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  5. Tikka

    Tikka Monkey+++

    Hurt my dogs and I'd remember how to hurt people.
     
  6. Mountainman

    Mountainman Großes Mitglied Site Supporter+++

    I don't have any kids so my dogs are my kids. Messing with them would greatly accelerate your rate of assuming room temperature.
     
    oldawg likes this.
  7. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    It has always chapped my $*#! that they do not release the names of juveniles for things like this, particularly when the vermin in question is a repeat waste of skin and bone. People should know who the vicious little predator is. No doubt his handlers are already running around squawking about what a good boy he is, and how he was just about to turn his life around and only fell in with the wrong crowd.

    Then again, this toilet stain would probably have the newspaper clippings framed were they to feature his name in 12 point typeface.

    I'm usually almost impossible to torque off but there are two things that will guarantee an immediate and over the top smackdown. Steal from me, or hurt my dogs (or any of my critters), and I lose all perspective in a hurricane of retribution. Some day he will enter the wrong house and never leave.
     
    oldawg likes this.
  8. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Any updates on the pup's condition?
     
  9. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    K-9 Drake update: Retired police dog may be flown to Gainsville to undergo tests

    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Drake, the retired police dog shot at least four times earlier this week during a break-in at a Florida Highway Patrol trooper’s home, is being flown to the University of Florida in Gainesville to undergo tests to determine the source of fluid in his lungs, according to Veterinarian Ken Simmons.
    Dr. Simmons, owner of Simmons Veterinary Hospital in Greenacres where Drake is being treated, said he suspects the fluid may be coming from a hole in the esophagus caused by one of the bullets that hit the 5-year-old German shepherd.
    Simmons, a private pilot, says he will fly Drake to the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine Friday so he can have a CT scan that would determine whether the dog’s esophagus is perforated.
    Depending on the results of the CT scan, Drake could undergo emergency surgery in Gainesville, he said.
    He said that if he notices that the dog is improving, he may not need to fly him to Gainesville.
    “I’ll decide in the morning,” he said.
    A 16-year-old armed burglary suspect was arrested on Wednesday, and two others are being sought, in the Sunday evening break-in at Trooper Robert Boody’s home near Jog and Belvedere roads, investigators said.
    Boody was not home at the time but Drake, who lives with Boody, started barking during the break-in.
    "When I initially saw the scene at the house I initially assumed that the dog was going to be dead," Boody said. "I was relieved to find him alive."
    One of the suspects shot through the sliding glass door several times, wounding Drake, according to the arrest report.
    The suspects then entered through a back window and encountered the wounded, whimpering dog in the master bedroom. One suspect shot Drake again and left him for dead before they all ran away, the report stated.
    One of the three juvenile suspects was arrested on Wednesday for the armed burglary and felony cruelty to animals. He was already on probation for burglary and grand theft, records show.
     
  10. hammer502

    hammer502 Monkey+

    unfortunately,i saw on facebook that this dog has passed away from injuries sustained in the burglary. i hope that they catch all of the people involved and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law!!!!
     
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