A Monterey Park police K-9 was critically injured during a bee attack while the dog was chasing a suspect. Kim Baldonado reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on May 13, 2015.
A police dog was badly hurt after being stung by bees dozens of times while pursuing burglars in Monterey Park, officials said.
K-9 Officer Robin was injured last weekend while she chased the two burglars, a Monterey Park Police Department spokesman said.
Despite the bee attack, the 3-year-old Belgian Malinois still caught one of the suspected burglars, who was arrested.
"The fact that she was stung by more than 60 is amazing, and the fact that she continued doing her job despite that is even more amazing. She's definitely a fighter," said veterinarian Dr. Nicole Overbey.
Soon afterward she went into anaphylactic shock and underwent an emergency blood transfusion. It was later discovered her liver and lungs suffered severe damage, and she remains in critical condition.
However, she is showing small signs of improvement.
"She's definitely still sad, but you can get her up, she can walk outside, she'll lift her head, she'll move around, just there's not a whole lot of pep behind it," said Overbey.
News
Top news of the day
While Monterey Park police and the city are paying for her treatment, a GoFundMe account was set up to help offset the costs, and its target of $10,000 was broken Wednesday morning. By Wednesday night, the fund had raised more than $19,500.
Robin has been serving as a K-9 officer for the past four months.
Robin's handler agent Peter Palomino, who was stung nearly 20 times, said he is grateful for the support and thanks everyone for their donations and well-wishes.
