K9 Arlo battles for life after being shot in the line of duty

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UPDATE

Jan. 20, 2021

On Thursday morning, Arlo was shot twice during a police chase, according to officials. He was taken to a nearby veterinary center, where vets treated one bullet wound in Arlo’s leg.

Soon afterward, Arlo was transported by a local off-duty firefighter to Oregon State University’s Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine, where his second bullet wound — near Arlo’s spine — was treated, authorities said.

K9 Officer Arlo, a 3-year-old German Shepherd, was released from the hospital on Monday after he was shot last week.

K9 Officer Arlo, a 3-year-old German Shepherd, was released from the hospital on Monday after he was shot last week. (Oregon State University)

“It’s a miracle that Arlo’s still alive,” Dr. Jen Warnock, an orthopedic veterinary surgeon, said in a statement. “The C6 vertebra was shattered; the bullet missed an artery that would’ve killed him by a millimeter; it could’ve destroyed his carotid artery.”

Before doctors performed surgery Friday morning, they estimated Arlo had a 60% chance of survival. During the eight-hour procedure, they fused his C6 and C7 vertebrae and worked to fix his soft tissue damage, authorities said.

Despite the long procedures, Arlo was walking with assistance by Saturday morning.

As he was released from the hospital on Monday, Arlo was met by two lines of officers who cheered him as a “Good boy,” according to a video posted on Facebook and TikTok.

Officers also met him at his home with a “Welcome Home Arlo” sign in the yard.

According to authorities, Arlo will not be returning to active duty because of his injuries, Fox News reported. However, K9 handlers are given the first opportunity to buy and keep their dogs as pets.

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Jan. 16, 2021

THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. — K9 Arlo of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office was shot during a police chase in Grand Mound this week. He underwent multiple surgeries to remove a bullet near his spine at Oregon State University’s Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine in Corvallis on Friday.

The Facebook page for the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit said, “All of the surgeries all went extremely well and the surgeons are very happy with the outcome of all of them.  K-9 Arlo has received some new hardware and fashion accessories (6 screws and surgical medical cement) in his neck that were all used to fuse his fractured vertebrae to healthy ones.”

K-9 Arlo Update – January 15, 2021 9:50 PM

K-9 Arlo is out of surgery and resting!! All of the surgeries all went…

Posted by Thurston County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit on Friday, January 15, 2021

Arlo was shot twice when Thurston County Sheriff’s deputies and Washington State Patrol troopers chased a 25-year-old suspect on Interstate 5.

When law enforcement stopped and made contact with the vehicle, both the police K9 and the suspect were hit by gunfire, King5 News reported.

The suspect suffered serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital.

No one else was injured in the incident.

More than $70,000 has been raised for Arlo, who has a sizable social media presence on TikTok.

The sheriff’s office has been updating Arlo’s condition on Facebook.


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