Douglas County K-9 escapes, kills dog in Thornton

A Douglas County Sheriff’s Office police dog has been pulled from duty after it escaped and killed another dog in Thornton.

Sgt. Matt Kandt, a spokesman for the Thornton Police Department, tells The Denver Post the 3-year-old Belgian Malinois named Freia escaped her handler’s vehicle and “got into a confrontation with another dog” at a park Sunday. The handler and the dog were off-duty but on-call at the time.

The dog that was attacked was an 11-year-old shih tzu. Freia’s handler was cited for the attack and for having a dog at large.

Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock says his department also is investigating.