Police K9 attacked and hurt NJ neighbor's Yorkie dog, owner says

FRANKLIN (Gloucester) — A small dog in South Jersey is on the mend after its owner says her neighbor’s police K9 attacked the Yorkshire Terrier.

Christina Ginchereau posted a photo of “Charley” as her Facebook profile, a day after the Feb. 2 incident, which sent the dog for emergency surgery, as first reported by NJ.com.

The dog suffered rib injuries and a punctured lung after Glassboro Police K9, Loki, broke free of his police officer handler and bit the smaller dog on the family’s front lawn, according to the same report.

The handler is Ginchereau’s neighbor.

After 22 weeks of training, the police dog and Officer Colton Gemenden graduated in January 2020 from the John “Sonny” Burke K9 Training Academy, according to Glassboro police in a Facebook post shortly after.

The dog is trained for patrol and scent work, specifically for narcotic detection.

Glassboro Police Chief John Polillo told NJ.com that the department paid for the yorkie’s veterinarian bills, which Ginchereau said topped $3,000.

Two days after the biting incident that hospitalized the smaller dog, the K9 was still next door, according to Ginchereau on her Facebook page.

The police dog has since been re-evaluated and approved to resume work, while staying at the police department as fencing is put up at his handler’s home, Polillo also said in the same report.

A request for comment from Polillo by New Jersey 101.5 was not answered as of Wednesday night. Neither was a message left for Gincherau.

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