A heroic police dog who was attacked with an iron bar in Kilwinning is now seeking a new home.
PC Paul O'Donnell and his police dog Remo were attacked by a man who also bit the dog's ear in March 2019.
The incident took place in March 2020 after the pair were searching for a suspect in a domestic abuse case who was hiding in waste ground.
The man was eventually sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty.
Now the former police pooch, who retired in March, is in urgent need of a new home following "a change in circumstances".
Hero Paws, a charity providing support to ex-military and service dogs, says Remo will need to be housed in kennels if they are unable to find him a suitable residence.
In a post shared on Facebook, they wrote: "Retired Scottish police dog Remo is looking for a new home due to a change in circumstances.
"He's a great lump of a lad with a pure heart of gold but he does come with quirks and demons from a hard-working life.
"Physically fit but a wee broken soul, so a little extra care is needed in the great wide world.
"He's a fab dog but does have trauma from his working days.
"Doesn't make him any more handful than any of the retired PDs and MWDs [Military Working Dogs], but he will react if scared, so he needs a knowledgeable home."
The Belgian Malinois is unable to be housed with other pets or children.
Speaking about the horrifying incident after the attacker was sentenced, PC O’Donnell said: “I sent Remo to stop him and when he was only about 10ft away Remo jumped for him. The man had a metal bar behind his back and he’s swung it round and smashed Remo in the face .
“Remo then kind of backed off and started barking. I then put hands on the man to try and detain him, he started fighting with me and Remo saw this and grabbed him by the calf.
“He then just folded over, grabbed hold of Remo’s head and sunk his teeth into the dog’s ear.
“But the reality is that if you bite a police dog, all that’s going to happen is he’s going to bite you even harder.
“The damage was a bad wound to the centre of his ear and at the edge of the ear, a nick was taken out of it where the guy’s tooth has ripped a part of it off.
“All I could I see was the blood pouring out of Remo’s ear. At first, I didn’t know I had been hit in the face with the bar.
“A traffic cop that was following me told me to put my hand to my face and there was blood pouring down my face.
“My main concern was to get Remo to the vet in East Kilbride and it was only when we were halfway there that my concussion started to set in.
“It’s not the kind of incident you expect to come across on a Tuesday afternoon but you never really know what you’re going to come up against.
“Any other member of the public would go ballistic if someone smashed their dog in the face but we have to be professional and make sure we get the arrest to keep the public safe.
“Remo lost about a third of his tooth during the incident. They did root canal surgery on the remaining tooth to save it and then tapered it down to fit the titanium crown.
“They’ve capped it off and it’s done the job.”
If you can provide a new home for Remo contact: https://heropaws.org.uk/.
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