A loyal police dog who was shot in the paw serving in the line of duty, has made an incredible recovery to rejoin the front-line and serve his community once more.
The Dutch Shepherd, Mikey, had served for three of his six years with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, in California, before suffering a terrible injury on July 18 this year.
Leading the line on a SWAT apartment raid, the dog was suddenly charged and attacked by two pitbulls.
Attempting to save Mikey from further injury, one of the officers opened fire on the vicious dogs – but a bullet accidentally struck police hound on his front right paw.
Mikey the police dog is seen recovering with his front right paw in plaster and another bandage on his hind left leg
An officer carrying Mikey after two of his toes were blown off by a stray bullet after he was attacked by pitbulls
The medical team hold up Mikey’s fixed leg, which has been wrapped up in a Superman cast
Mikey back in action, taking down a potential criminal in a training exercise
The police hound and a handler walk between two Fresno County Sheriff’s Office patrol cars
Mikey back at work, but minus two of his toes, which were blown off by a stray bullet
With amputation of his entire leg a genuine fear, it was thought Mikey would never be able to serve in the police force again.
But despite losing two of his toes, incredibly, the dog made a full recovery, returning to the front line on November 29.
Handler officer Jerry Kitchens said: ‘The bond you have with your animal, once that is broken or you see him get injured, that does take a toll on you – it’s like a punch in the gut.
‘I loved seeing Mike back. Once we saw the tissue starting to heal, that’s when we knew Mike would be returning to service.
‘But the only real way we would be able to tell was to put him through the paces and tests we do for all our canines.
‘Mike was able to complete all of those tasks without injury or hesitation.’