Teen admits ‘horrifying’ stabbing of police dog
Constable Dave Balck put his hand down to pat his four-legged “best mate” when he noticed a pool of blood.
Police dog Mccaw had just chased down a knife-wielding burglar with his handler following closely behind.
But as the drama ended, Balck noticed Mccaw was flat and fading.
Little did the dog handler know, just minutes earlier the 14-year-old offender had plunged a large filleting knife 10cm in the neck of his beloved dog — named after All Blacks great Richie Mccaw.
The blade missed vital arteries by just millimetres.
The offender’s case was called in the Rotorua Youth Court this week when, through his lawyer, he entered a plea of non-denial to two charges, including burglary and injuring a police dog.
The youth cannot be named for legal reasons but NZME was granted permission to report his court case.
The youth, who is now remanded on bail in the South Island, is required to appear in the Alexandra Youth Court on July 22 for an update on his progress before his case is considered completed on August 19.
According to a police summary of facts, released to NZMET, the teen was armed with a large knife when he broke into a car at a house on Ford Rd at 3am on Friday April 17 — at a time when the country was in alert level 4 lockdown.
The teen was disturbed by the car’s owner, police were called and the youth ran away north on Ford Rd.
Mccaw and Balck eventually tracked the youth to his home a short distance away, the summary said.
"Mccaw is a tough little dog and lives up to his namesake."
The teen ran to the back of the property and into the kitchen where he picked up a sharp filleting knife.
As Mccaw approached him, the teen plunged the knife into the dog’s neck.
Balck followed behind and confronted the teen who was hiding under the front stairs of the house.
Balck tried to safely arrest him but the teen began self-harming, the summary said.
Balck described the events of the night as “horrific”, particularly when he confronted the teen.
Police reported at the time the teen was taken to hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.
Balck said he lost sight of both of them briefly during the chase — which was when his training kicked in that potentially could have saved Mccaw’s life.
“When you lose sight of your dog you must recall them, so that’s what I did and he came back to me,” he said.
Once he knew Mccaw was in trouble, Balck used medical supplies he carries on his belt on the wound.
The dog was taken to Rotorua Central City Vets, who performed a two-hour surgery despite the tricky lockdown conditions.
Rotorua dog section leader Sergeant Jason Owen said they were indebted to vet Penny and vet nurse Natalie for performing the surgery in the early hours of the morning.
“Mccaw is a tough little dog and lives up to his namesake,” Owen said.