An award-winning OCSO K9 was seriously injured this morning during a search for a burglary suspect in Destin.
Deputies were called to a house on Bambi Drive after the home’s alarm was activated around 3:45 a.m. Deputies interrupted a burglary in progress as one individual ran out of a side door and towards the waterline. Inside on the first floor they found Christmas gifts torn open and other areas in disarray.
A perimeter was set up to try to locate the fleeing man. K9 “Dax” and his handler, Deputy Tim Patterson, arrived to assist. While searching the residence, K9 Dax fell through a ceiling located in an attic space on the 3rd floor, landing on a concrete porch approximately thirty feet below. He was taken to Bluewater Animal Hospital for treatment and then transported to a veterinarian in Pensacola for surgery on a broken leg. Initial indications are that he will recover from his injuries.
The investigation into the burglary continues at this time.
K9 Dax and Deputy Patterson, along with K9 Diesel and Deputy Jonathan Duenas earned the National Case of the Quarter from the U.S. Police Canine Association in 2014 for their work assisting the Crestview Police Department during a felony search warrant.
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