![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SUT-L-POLICE-DOG-1224-5-01.jpg\")
Officer Brendon Johanson and Bowie are photographed moments before Bowie was allegedly strangled by a barricaded suspect near Second and West Island avenues on Dec. 16. (San Diego Police Department)<\/p>\nSan Diego police Officer Brendon Johanson thought his partner was going to die in the back of his patrol car as they raced to the emergency room. A suspect had choked out Bowie, his 4-year-old Belgian Malinois partner, during a SWAT standoff in the Gaslamp Quarter, and the dog was unconscious for more than 3\u00bd minutes.<\/p>\n
But, in what some are calling a miraculous recovery, the dog is now expected to go back to work Christmas Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a nice Christmas present \u2026 knowing that he\u2019s going to be OK,\u201d Johanson said.<\/p>\n
Officer Brendon Johanson and Bowie are photographed moments before Bowie was allegedly strangled by a barricaded suspect near Second and West Island avenues on Dec. 16. (San Diego Police Department)<\/p>\n
Bowie\u2019s close call happened Dec. 16 when officers received a report that a man \u2014 who had been accused of beating a woman over the head with a baseball bat \u2014 was holed up in his apartment on Second and West Island avenues.<\/p>\n
It was a moment that Bowie and Johanson had trained for and already experienced, the officer said.<\/p>\n
Bowie is the second dog Johanson has worked with during his 11-year career with the San Diego Police Department, he said. His previous dog, Bady, died of pneumonia in October 2023.<\/p>\n
Despite the loss of a Bady, a dog he had grown close with over the years, Johanson was assigned a new dog, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois bred in Europe, just a few weeks later.<\/p>\n
Johanson said that from the jump, during their eight-week certification course, Bowie was special.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a very obedient, great dog, and strong, too,\u201d Johanson said. \u201cBut he\u2019s also tough, and he can put up a fight with anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the officer and Bowie were assigned to SWAT detail, a job generally reserved for the best handlers and canines. Dogs on this specialized assignment are required to adeptly respond under pressure to high-octane, complicated situations.<\/p>\n
From keeping calm while flashbangs are exploding around them, to sifting through cacophonous gunfire to hear their handler\u2019s commands, to navigating slick floors that even the most dexterous dogs would find themselves sliding across, SWAT dogs must be as useful a law enforcement tool as their human counterparts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want dogs that are going to take the fight to someone,\u201d Johanson said. \u201cIf someone\u2019s going to take the fight to them, they can stick with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For two years, Bowie has excelled in his role as a SWAT dog, Johanson said. And at the end of every shift, regardless of what the day entailed, the two head home together.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s at home with me all the time, and then we\u2019re together for more than 40 hours a week at work,\u201d Johanson said. \u201cI spend more time with him than anyone in my own family, really.\u201d<\/p>\n
The routine and tight bond the canine team has developed over the years is what made last week so visceral for Johanson and Bowie, the officer said.<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/sut-l-police-dog-1224-03.jpg\")
Officer Brendon Johanson and Bowie responding to call. (San Diego Police Department)<\/p>\n
The two responded to the scene like they would any other, Johanson driving his vehicle and Bowie in his pen in the back. Johanson unlocked the crate, Bowie hopped out, and the partners moved into position inside the building.<\/p>\n
When the tear gas deployed into the apartment failed, police turned to the quick-moving, highly-effective Bowie, who would attempt to resolve the situation through less-lethal means, despite the chance that the suspect may be armed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf officers had to walk up there, it increases the likelihood that an officer-involved shooting was going to occur,\u201d Johanson said, \u201cso we sent Bowie in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bowie did quick work locating the suspect in the apartment and was able to maintain a bite on his body, but Johanson quickly realized there was an issue. Officers who could see the suspect said he had allegedly fought with the dog, choking the air out of Bowie.<\/p>\n
To save the dog\u2019s life and arrest the man, SWAT moved in. Johanson found Bowie\u2019s unconscious body lying on the floor of the apartment when he was finally cleared to enter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw him limp on the ground, and he wasn\u2019t breathing,\u201d Johanson said. \u201cI grabbed him, picked him up and went out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of the tear gas, Johanson said he had to remove his own gas mask while running down a stairwell before he could begin performing CPR on his dog.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a fellow canine officer realized what was happening and ran out in front of Johanson and quickly pulled his vehicle around so they could head straight for an emergency veterinary office, where they were met by a group of veterinary technicians waiting outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he was going to die in the car,\u201d Johanson said.<\/p>\n
They quickly got the dog onto an operating table, hooked him up to oxygen and began running a battery of tests.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey did an ultrasound of his lungs, made sure they\u2019re looking good, tested his breathing and made sure he was processing oxygen,\u201d Johanson said.<\/p>\n
The officer was told there was a risk of fluid in Bowie\u2019s lungs, which could lead to pneumonia \u2014 a potentially fatal illness Johanson was all too familiar with from his last dog.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe spend a lot of time with these dogs,\u201d Johanson said. \u201cI was thinking to myself that if it\u2019s one of the worst-case scenarios, and he can\u2019t go back into the field, but at least he lives, I\u2019ll adopt him. He\u2019ll be my pet at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/sut-l-police-dog-1224-02.jpg\")
Officer Brendon Johanson and Bowie at home a week after the injury. (Abby Langley, San Diego Police Department)<\/p>\n
Officers stayed with Bowie through the night.<\/p>\n
Only after being told his dog was in the clear did Johanson breathe a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n
Bowie is one of two San Diego police dogs that have been injured this month in the line of duty. Goraz, another dog, was stabbed in the right leg during an assault in Ridgeview\/Webster on Monday. Although suffering serious injuries, he is also expected to recover, officials said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat these dogs do is dangerous, and the reality is they step into situations that save officers\u2019 lives every single day,\u201d Johanson said. \u201cSeeing what happened to Goraz is a reminder of the risks that come with this work, but it doesn\u2019t change how I view it \u2014 it just reinforces how brave these canines really are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johanson said Bowie has made nearly a full recovery in a week, and once cleared, he\u2019s set to return to the field Thursday \u2014 two years to the day since they first began working together.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a gift knowing that he\u2019ll be able to go back to work,\u201d Johanson said, \u201cknowing that he\u2019s going to be OK and fine.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Diego police Officer Brendon Johanson thought his partner was going to die in the back of his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,138,181,23,100,74,84,76,75],"class_list":["post-108792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-california","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-county","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}