Police Dog Recovering From 9 Stab Wounds To His Head

LAKELAND, FL — A Polk County Sheriff's K-9 was stabbed in the head nine times with a kitchen knife after trying to detain a man accused of burglarizing a home.

The sheriff's office said Carl McHargh Jr., 31, broke into a home on Grand Pine Boulevard on Saturday around 8:30 p.m. using a lug wrench to smash the glass on the front door. The residents ran out of the house and called 911.

Deputy Scott Cronin and K-9 Vise arrived on the scene and found the McHargh had taken refuge in the master bedroom closet and refused to come out.

Deputies sent K-9 Vise into the closet to detain McHargh, so they could take him into custody. McHargh began stabbing the dog with a kitchen knife he'd stolen from the kitchen.

Cronin rushed to Vise's rescue, ripping the knife out of McHargh's hand and cutting his own hand in the process.

After he was taken into custody, McHargh suffered a medical event doctors believe was caused by a cocaine overdose. He was taken to the hospital where he remains in critical condition.

Vise was taken to the Parkway Veterinary Clinic where he underwent surgery for nine stab wounds and an arterial bleed. He is expected to recover.

“These deputies and the canine risked their lives to get an armed and dangerous, drug-induced suspect out of the victims’ house," said Sheriff Grady Judd. "We are grateful that Vise will make a full recovery and that Deputy Cronin and the other two deputies weren’t more seriously injured in this violent attack. This felon was clearly in some sort of drug-induced rage, and preliminarily it appears he was suffering from excited delirium.”

McHargh faces charges of armed occupied burglary, offense against a police dog with great bodily harm, three counts of resisting arrest with violence, three counts of battery on a law enforcement officer and petit theft.

The sheriff’s office said McHargh has a long criminal history that includes 36 arrests in Polk and Hillsborough counties -- 15 felonies and 11 misdemeanors.