Bangor police suspend dog after 2nd attack

BANGOR – A Bangor police dog has been suspended from service, its future at the department uncertain after a second incident this year in which it attacked another dog.

Bangor Police Chief Don Winslow said dog handlers and specialized trainers would assess the 3-year-old German shepherd named Rex in the wake of Saturday’s attack on a dog being walked in Glenburn. The incident came months after Rex attacked another dog, and Winslow said the assessment would include whether Rex can be retrained and returned to duty.

“We’re going to take whatever steps necessary to make sure this does not happen again,” Winslow said Tuesday.

The police dog recently failed certification for obedience through the U.S. Police Canine Association, but had qualified for tracking, searching articles and buildings and sniffing for drugs, according to Winslow. Rex was running loose on the property of his handler, Officer Mike Jewett, at the time of the incident.

Glenburn resident Kevin Bennett said his 7-year-old husky, Sable, was attacked by Rex as he was walking her along Merryman Road Saturday night. Bennett, a Bangor Daily News photographer, said he and his dog were walking along the road about 10:30 p.m. when out of the darkness he heard growling and snarling.

He turned around and turned on a light secured to his hat. He said he saw Rex and another dog heading for them, with Rex in the lead. The other dog apparently didn’t attack Sable, although it became entangled in the commotion that ensued.

“It was a swirl of fur, fangs and mayhem,” said Bennett who was knocked off his feet amid the attack. Rex bit Sable several times then latched onto her hindquarters, he said.

Jewett tried to call off Rex, then tried to pull him off Sable, but Rex ignored his commands, according to Bennett. As Jewett pulled Rex, Bennett struggled to pull Sable to safety. Bennett said Rex released his grip only when he hit the dog on the nose with a flashlight.

Sable was able to walk but was taken to an emergency veterinary hospital in Brewer, where Bennett said a wound was stapled closed. The next morning, Bennett said, he found three other wounds, one of which also required metal staples. Bennett went to St. Joseph Hospital to be treated for cuts and scrapes on his arms and legs he suffered when he fell down during the commotion.

In the previous attack last spring, Rex attacked another dog that came onto his property. In that case Rex took the brunt of the injuries, Winslow said.

Winslow said the department is accepting responsibility for the incident Saturday, including Sable’s and Bennett’s injuries and that they are looking at whether Rex can be retrained. Calling it a very unfortunate incident, Winslow said he can’t remember other cases of a Bangor police dog going after other dogs and Rex has not gone after people.

Winslow said that the Police Department purchased Rex for about $3,800 two years ago and Rex is one of two K9 units in Bangor.

Winslow praised the effectiveness of police dogs that have been part of the Bangor Police Department for about three decades, noting they have been effective tools in locating lost people, searching buildings for suspects and sniffing out drugs.