Just Plain Mean: Burglars Poison Police Dog, Rob Officer's Home

The dog was locked in a kennel -- there was no need for poison. Terrible, terrible, terrible.

This week, thieves staged a brazen burglary in Richmond, CA, at the home of a police officer after poisoning two of the officer's dogs. One of the dogs was a police dog.  

The robbery is as brazen as it is baffling. 

Police say that the officer received a call from him wife at 6 a.m., saying that their 2-year-old black Labrador Retriever, Trax, was sick. The officer came home, locked his police dog, a Belgian Malinois, in a backyard kennel, then took the Lab with his wife to the vet. 

Then, the burglars struck, stealing three sporting guns, two handguns, and some other items. 

"His house was ransacked, and five firearms were stolen as well as numerous personal possessions," Richmond Lt. Bisa French told KGO.

The thieves also poisoned the police dog, who was locked in his kennel. He was no threat. The poisoning makes no sense. 

"They didn't even need to poison the [police] dog -- it was locked up in a kennel," French told the San Francisco Chronicle. "If they wanted to burglarize the house, they could have done it without poisoning the dog."

Richmond officer Joe Avila, who is also a K-9 staff member, says, "Both of the dogs involved in this were locked, secured in kennels. They were of no threat to any burglar. It was obviously an intentional act. They could have broken into the house and committed the crime that they committed without doing anything to those dogs."

The family's Lab ended up dying from the poison-laced meat, but the police dog is expected to pull through. 

"It didn't look good for his partner for quite some time, and luckily he got the attention he needed immediately," said Avila.

Police haven't identified the officer or the police dog, citing security concerns. 

"They're just an extremely hardworking team, one of the most dedicated teams in our unit," said Avila.

"It's frightening that somebody would target him specifically, that they would not only burglarize the house but also harm the dogs," French said.

Via KGO and the San Francisco Chronicle

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