It was a sad day at the SAPS K9 unit in Humansdorp on Monday, 20 March 2023 when one of our own four-legged colleagues sadly passed away an hour after saving his handler’s life while at the same time, making sure that a housebreaking suspect did not escape arrest.
The sad demise of Deacon, a Rottweiler started at about 07:30 on Monday morning when his handler, Sgt Pat Le Grange, and Deacon responded to a call of housebreaking allegedly committed in the St Francis Bay area. After being informed that the suspect/s had entered the dense bushes in the area, Sgt Le Grange and Deacon pursued them. When warnings to exit the bush had failed, the duo crawled into the thicket with Deacon leading the way on a long leash.
At some point, the handler heard a loud scream and he hastened to get to his dog. As Sgt Le Grange stood up, the suspect lunged at him with a knife. Deacon who had already been stabbed still got up to protect his handler and once again pounced on the suspect enabling…
