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.
“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.