San Joaquin County K-9 Recovering After Stabbing During Pursuit
STOCKTON (CBS13) — A San Joaquin County Sheriff's K-9 stabbed during a pursuit last week is on the road to recovery after coming within an inch of dying.
A normal day at work turned into a near tragedy for deputy Joshua Stillman and his partner, Haakon.
"It's like watching your kids or best buddy injured," he said. "You could see that he was dying, you could see it in his eyes."
During a search for a suspect in Stockton on Dec. 31, deputies tracked Joe Eduard Bindi to a bedroom. When they realized he had left the room through a crawlspace, they sent in Haakon.
"He announced that he had a knife and he was going to stab my dog," Stillman said.
He called his dog back, but it was too late. Haakon was stabbed in the neck.
"My hand actually slid inside his neck," he said.
They raced to get out of the house. By the time they got to the vet around the corner, the Haakon was losing consciousness and had labored breathing.
"He was very close to dying," he said.
Doctors performed emergency surgery and gave Haakon a blood transfusion.
A few hours later, Haakon would walk out of the vet's office with stitches in his neck and eyelid. Now he's home recovering with Stillman and his family.
"He's ready to play fetch but i have to keep him mellow at home and let him relax and rest," he said.
Eventually he'll go back to work, and Stillman knows his dog won't hesitate to go into dangerous situations again.
Bindi was arrested and charged with a number of things, including causing serious injury to a law enforcement animal and resisting arrest.