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Even police dogs put their life on the line during duty. Seabee, a 2-year-old German Shepherd, is recovering after he was nearly drowned by 18-year-old London Barnes during a police chase.
Seabee is in the service of the Orlando Police Department, and got involved while police where chasing Barnes down for a suspected robbery.
According to The Orlando Sentinel, the robbery victim had come yesterday to check her mail when she heard a backdoor shut and saw Barnes running away. She enlishted neighbors at the nearby community pool to try and catch him, but Barnes managed to scale a fence and temporarily escaped into a swampy area with a lake.
A police officer and Seabee continued the pursuit into the wilderness. Barnes then ran into a murky lake and hid amongst the water and grass. The officer sent Seabee into the lake to track down Barnes, but Barnes emerged and grappled the dog. He held Seabee’s head underwater on at least three occasions, and water entered the dog’s lungs. Police believe he was trying to drown the dog.
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Seabee managed to get away and come back to land, but then started to convulse.
The officer managed to sustain Barnes, who had sustained one bite during the tussle. He’s now in jail on charges of burglary, resisting an arrest with violence and injuring a police dog.
Seabee received medical treatment, and the water was removed from his lungs. He’s still running a high fever, and he will be continued to be monitored for signs of infection. Both Seabee and his officer will be off-duty for the next three days.
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