Sheriff's K-9 injured in attack by dog that gets shot

CALIFORNIA -- Django, a Riverside County sheriff's K-9, was recovering from injuries suffered Friday, Dec. 19, after it was attacked by another dog in Jurupa Valley, a department spokesman said.

A deputy shot Django's attacker to death, Deputy Armando Munoz said.

About 3:30 p.m. Friday, deputies responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon in the 10200 block of 50th Street in Jurupa Valley. Deputies entered the property through an open gate to contact the caller, Munoz said.

As they entered, a loose dog attacked Django, Munoz said. Deputies made several attempts to detach the attacker from Django but were unsuccessfully, Munoz said. That's when the deputy shot the other dog.

Django was taken to a veterinarian with what Munoz described as injuries that were not life threatening. No people were injured, Munoz said.

Munoz said deputies were still there about 8:30 p.m. investigating the report of the assault. A news release said an anonymous caller had said there were about 10 people fighting there, and that some of them had weapons. The release did not say whether deputies encountered any of those people.

Django and his partner, Matt Saidleman, finished fifth in the building search division in the department's annual K-9 trials, Nov. 7-8 in Temecula, that invites teams from California, Nevada, Canada and Mexico.

(Press-Enterprise - ‎Dec 20, 2014)‎