MANDEVILLE, La. (WGNO) – The K-9 who was stabbed multiple times while protecting a fellow officer from a suspect is going to be OK. Thor was stabbed Tuesday afternoon in St. Tammany Parish when a suspect hiding from police in a pile of trash lunged at one of the deputies with a switch-blade knife. Thor intercepted it.
“The deputy believes, had it not been for the K9 Thor, this individual would have killed him. He was that close and attempting to stab him. His exact words to me were that this K9 Thor pulled him away, and that’s when he started stabbing K9 Thor. And that’s when the deputies fired on him,” Strain told WGNO News near the scene Tuesday evening.
Thor was immediately rushed to a veterinary hospital where he underwent surgery.
According to doctors, Thor lost a significant amount of blood, but he is doing better today. Doctors are keeping him under observation and say that his condition is being monitored “day by day.”
“At this point, it’s day by day. But that’s better than hour by hour as it was before,” Strain said Wednesday afternoon at the MedVet Medical and Cancer Center for Pets on Florida Street in Mandeville.
A decision about Thor’s possible return to duty is uncertain, as the extent of his future recovery cannot be predicted at this time.
The sheriff’s office is posting updates on Thor on its Facebook page which are getting thousands of likes and comments.
The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Department released the names of both burglary suspects on Wednesday.
30-year-old Darien Greenwood of Covington was shot and killed by deputies when he attempted to stab and officer and ultimately stabbed Thor. 22-yaer-old Dean Andrew Perkins of Covington was booked with one count of simple burglary. His bond has been set at $20,000.
Ad here’s an interesting fact. This case isn’t the first time a suspect has tried to kill Thor. Sheriff Strain says last year his deputies were closing in on another burglary suspect.
“Thor ultimately located that individual and he grabbed Thor and dove into the Bogue Falaya River and held him under water trying to drown Thor. And in that particular situation, if it were not for Thor’s handler saving him, Thor may have died,” Strain said. Strain added that the same handler was involved in the previous case and the one Tuesday afternoon.