Appie, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois who works for Fort Lauderdale Police, is recovering from a successful surgery after he was shot in the shoulder during a burglary investigation on Saturday.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Saturday, officers were called to the 1600 block of Northwest 16th Court, the police department said in a news release Monday.
A group of women renting an Airbnb in Fort Lauderdale called 911 after returning to the home after being out for several hours. They found it in disarray, furniture flipped over, their belongings ransacked and a man inside, according to the call released Wednesday.
The woman told the dispatcher she and her friends were waiting across the street from the home but believed the man went out a back door and hopped over a fence to get away.
Christian Q. Bouie, 30, of Fort Lauderdale, was identified as the suspect, the police department said.
Bouie tried to flee the perimeter officers set up during the investigation, and as an officer released Appie to apprehend him, Bouie shot him, the department said.
Appie underwent surgery late Tuesday night and is doing well.
Bouie was being held in the Broward Main Jail and faces charges of use of a deadly weapon on a police animal, interfering with law enforcement officers with violence, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and resisting officers without violence.