Wounded police dog Bruno undergoes emergency surgery View Photo Gallery BY DANIEL LANGHORNE Email Article UPDATE: The Anaheim police dog wounded in a shootout last month underwent emergency surgery Tuesday night, officials said. Bruno, a 7-year-old German shepherd, had been recovering to veterinarians expectations since the shooting. Until late Tuesday, he appeared to be on the mend. On Wednesday morning, he remained at Yorba Regional Animal Hospital as vets and police monitored his condition, said Sgt. Allen Roman of the Anaheim Police Department. Check back in just a bit as we update this report. EARLIER: ANAHEIM – Bruno’s ears went straight up when he saw the Mickey Mouse toy. Dr. Maria Fahie, the veterinary surgeon who repaired the police dog’s jaw shattered by a suspect’s bullet, said Bruno knows when it’s time to work and when its time to play. These days, the German shepherd wants to play. “I’ve worked with other police dogs that have been harder to work with,” Fahie said. “ But he’s not that way.” Fahie was checking in with her most famous patient on Tuesday, just before a veterinary technician would take Bruno out of Yorba Regional Animal Hospital in Anaheim for a walk. Bruno has received international attention since getting shot in the jaw by a suspect as police pursued him on March 20 in the 1100 block of Mayfair Avenue in Anaheim. The suspect, who was fatally shot by police, had fired at Orange County probation officers, authorities said. The bullet remains inside Bruno’s chest. His veterinarians don’t have plans to remove it. “It won’t hurt him where it is, so you don’t want to cause more damage going after it,” Fahie said. Steven Dunbar, owner and founder of Yorba Regional Animal Hospital, said no discharge date is set for Bruno. It could be up to a month before he’s ready to go home. In part, the long hospital stay is because when the cop dog gets with his handler, Officer R.J. Young, Bruno gets excited and jumps around. Doctors want Bruno to stay calm. An external fixator, which looks like an old-fashioned set of orthodontic headgear, holds Bruno’s lower jaw together with pins. Sgt. Allen Roman, an Anaheim police spokesman, said the department is happy to cover Bruno’s hospital costs; he’s owned by the city. Several thousand dollars have been collected by fundraisers for the dog’s expenses after his retirement. It is likely the 7-year-old Bruno will not return to patrol and just retire, Anaheim police have said. On Tuesday, the doctor said Bruno’s bite strength probably won’t return to full strength for two years. Still, Bruno is on the mend. “We don’t know how well the bone of his jaw is going to heal, or what is going to happen with his teeth,” Dr. Fahie said. “It’s not going to be anything that will keep him from doing normal things.”
Posted on: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 03:43:15 +0000
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