Police Dog
Puskas, an 8-year-old Dutch shepherd, chased down Antonio Padilla Jr., 37, a carjacking suspect. This representative image shows a K-9 patrol dog, with the New Jersey Police Department, attends the third annual Search and Rescue and Service Dog Day and Awards for Extraordinary Service to Humanity at the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum in New York Harbor in New York City, Sept. 18, 2004. Getty Images/ Spencer Platt

The video of a Santa Ana police dog taking down a carjacking suspect in Los Angeles, California, on Monday has gone viral on social media.

Puskas, an 8-year-old Dutch shepherd, chased down Antonio Padilla Jr., 37, after the latter rear-ended a Mercedes wagon before pulling a woman out of her SUV and speeding off with her vehicle.

In the video, the woman’s brother is seen trying to stop Padilla from taking his sister’s car but fails to do so.

"I saw that he was taking my sister out of the car and I just reacted and tried to help," the brother told NBC4.

An aerial unit spotted the stolen vehicle near Kaiser and Gillette avenues, where it lost its tires after hitting the pavement. As police cars closed in on him, Padilla got out of the vehicle and started fleeing on foot.

A few seconds after he took flight, Puskas was unleashed by the officers. The highly trained dog chased the suspect down, pounced on him, bringing him to the ground.

"Padilla could not outrun the K-9," Garden Grove police said in a statement.

However, in the process of apprehending the suspect, Puskas lost many of his teeth and fractured a number of others. Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said the dog probably injured himself by hitting the pavement snout-first before clamping his teeth on the suspect.

Puskas, who was brought onto the Santa Ana Police Department in 2012, lost teeth on both his upper and lower jawline, except his canines. He underwent several hours of surgery at VCA Yorba Regional Animal Hospital on Tuesday, during which the teeth that had broken down to the gum had to be removed.

Puskas was wearing a Purple Heart tag for his show of valor when he was discharged from the hospital Tuesday. Santa Ana Police Officer Luis Galeana, who is Puskas’ handler, said the K-9 is on its way to recovery after the surgery and is expected to rejoin the task force after a month.

“He comes home with me. He’s part of my family,” said Galeana, CBS Los Angeles reported. “I spend more time with him than I do with my own family.”

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