Ashland Police Dog To Receive Hanna Award For Bravery
ASHLAND (CBS) - An Ashland police dog is about to make state history.
On Wednesday morning, Dax the German Shepard will become the first K-9 officer in the history of the Commonwealth to receive the George L. Hanna Memorial Award for Bravery. The honor is named after a state trooper who was killed in the line of duty more than 30 years ago.
But it was just last year, in July of 2013, that Dax and his partner, Officer Chris Alberini were sent to search for a suspect who was holed up in the attic of his Ashland house.
"We didn't know at that time that the suspect who was in the attic, was texting his lawyer, saying he was going to shoot the police when they got up there," explains Alberini.
So Dax went up first, taking the suspect by surprise, biting him on the leg and forcing him to drop the gun that he was planning to use on police.
"I remember sitting at home with him afterwards and just looking at him," Alberini recalls. "I couldn't believe that this dog who is my partner in the car every day saved my life."
"He deserves this award more than any of us," he says. "He went up and put himself at risk and he fought as hard as he could the whole time. And he's the one that really saved people's lives that day. No one else but him."
MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON
