By Blake Deshazo | The Selma Times-Journal

A K-9 officer with the Selma Police Department was shot Thursday at its handler’s home by a neighbor.

Selma Police Chief John Brock told the city council during a work session Thursday about the incident, which happened on Westwood Drive.

Brock said the dog’s handler worked the night before, so his wife let the dog outside.

“His wife let the dog out to do his business out there, and the neighbor behind him was working near the property line,” Brock said. “The dog approached the individual. He spooked him. He swatted at him with some razor wire. He growled at him, and the individual shot him.”

Brock said the dog, named Shorty, was immediately taken to the animal hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.

“The K-9 went straight to the animal hospital. He’s doing fine. It just went through meat,” Brock said. “It didn’t hit bone or anything like that.”

Brock said it seemed like the dog was shot multiple times because of multiple wounds, but he was only shot once.

“At first, from the appearance of the dog, it looked like he got shot two or three times, but what happened was it reentered a different place,” Brock said. “It looked like three, but it was really only one shot.”

Brock said the neighbor was arrested, but he has not been charged.

“Lt. Miller is looking into the case. We have not charged him yet, but they are working on it,” he said.

“We know who he is. We’ve seized the gun.”

Brock would not go into the details on why the shooter has not been charged yet, but said if they choose not to charge him they will take the case to the grand jury.

Shorty is one of three dogs at the department, and Brock said the dog’s size helped save his life.

“I don’t know why they call him that, but he is the biggest dog we’ve got,” he said. “That’s what really saved his life because he was so big and has so much muscle, that if it had been one of our smaller dogs, it really would have got him. The dog is real, real lucky.”

Brock said Shorty is back home and is expected to be able to go back to work in two weeks.