Police dog slashed with knife during Surrey, B.C. arrest

A police dog is recovering after being cut with a knife during an arrest in Surrey, B.C., on Monday.

The Surrey Police Service said the incident happened as officers were responding to reports of two people stealing from a vehicle.

Lotto, a K9 from the RCMP’s Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Service, tracked one of the suspects into a wooded area near 196 Street and 86-A Avenue, where police say he was slashed.

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“It was shortly after the arrest of the one suspect that the handler noticed that Lotto had been cut up in his neck and his ear area,” said S/Sgt. Lindsey Houghton.

“While the arrest was sort of unfolding, near the end of it, Lotto actually came out holding a knife in his mouth, and it was then that the handler realized he had been cut with a knife.”

Houghton said Lotto received stitches and is expected to make a full recovery.

Officers arrested the second suspect nearby. Prosecutors have yet to approve charges against either suspect.