{"id":365788,"date":"2026-08-08T00:50:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/365788\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:50:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:50:13","slug":"k-9s-leg-amputated-after-being-shot-by-suspect-wanted-for-child-sex-crimes-sheriff-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/365788\/","title":{"rendered":"K-9\u2019s leg amputated after being shot by suspect wanted for child sex crimes, sheriff says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text | article-text\">POLK COUNTY, Fla. (Gray News) &#8211; A Florida sheriff says a police dog remains hospitalized after suffering critical injuries while saving others in a shootout. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, K-9 Ace was shot in the leg when deputies were trying to take 27-year-old Angel Bowers into custody.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid mx-auto d-block\" alt=\"Florida authorities say K-9 Ace remains at the hospital following a shooting.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Z6X5MYZRC5HYHEDXJQKKVJGN3E.png\" width=\"980\" height=\"551\" \/>Florida authorities say K-9 Ace remains at the hospital following a shooting.(Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office)<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Judd held a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/polkcountysheriff\/videos\/2469686630210487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/polkcountysheriff\/videos\/2469686630210487\">news conference<\/a> on Thursday, stating that the situation started on Monday when Bowers failed to show for a court date in a child sex crimes case. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Bowers was said to be facing charges for unlawful sex with a minor, with a warrant issued for his arrest following that missed court appearance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Judd said deputies responded to an area property after a bail bondsman informed them of Bowers\u2019 possible whereabouts. However, there was no answer at the door when authorities arrived. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Deputies and the bondsman then tracked Bowers\u2019 location to a wooded area where he was reportedly in a tent. Authorities tried to make contact, and that\u2019s when shots were fired. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Bowers was found dead in the tent with a gun in his hand, Judd said. Three deputies at the scene were not injured thanks to K-9 Ace\u2019s actions. But the animal ended up being critically wounded in the shooting, including being shot in one of his legs. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">Polk County authorities said K-9 Ace received advanced treatment at the Veterinary Medical Center at Lakewood Ranch. Ace\u2019s surgery went well. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/polkcountysheriff\/posts\/pfbid036ZyyWpp6yu1mygoBqCDqtxh4HGufkoyv3m45ehxD7AxV6HeoPEmw49WBP5nmKJ4nl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/polkcountysheriff\/posts\/pfbid036ZyyWpp6yu1mygoBqCDqtxh4HGufkoyv3m45ehxD7AxV6HeoPEmw49WBP5nmKJ4nl\">his front left leg was too damaged<\/a>, and it had to be amputated. <\/p>\n<p class=\"text | article-text\">The sheriff\u2019s office said Ace is continuing to receive treatment with his partner remaining by his side. <\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"POLK COUNTY, Fla. (Gray News) &#8211; A Florida sheriff says a police dog remains hospitalized after suffering critical&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[148450,148452,148451,28,30,29,148444,148448,148449,148445,148443,148447,148446,119288],"class_list":["post-365788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-angel-bowers","tag-angel-bowers-polk-county-sheriffs-office","tag-angel-bowers-shootout","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-k-9-ace","tag-k-9-ace-leg-amputated","tag-k-9-ace-leg-amputated-shooting","tag-k-9-ace-shooting","tag-polk-county-k-9-ace","tag-polk-county-k-9-ace-leg-amputated","tag-polk-county-k-9-ace-shooting","tag-polk-county-sheriff-grady-judd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}