BRISTOL -- A city police officer was forced to kill a police dog this morning when it attacked him outside of a Sims Road home that had just been burglarized.
Patrol officers surrounded the house after the homeowner reported that thieves had taken two loaded handguns and might still be in the basement.
As other officers covered exits near the backyard, Officer Greg Blackinton sent his dog Bosco in through the front door to hunt for the suspects.
Bosco, a German Shephard, raced across the first floor, charged out a patio door that had been left open and attacked a police officer, according to Capt. Daniel McIntyre. The dog bit the officer, backed off and then attacked a second time, and the officer fired his shotgun at him, according to Capt. Daniel McIntyre.
Police took Bosco to a veterinarian, but the dog was dead.
A team of heavily armed police from Bristol and Southington searched the house, but found nobody inside. Students and staff at the nearby Ivy Drive Elementary School were ordered to stay inside for several hours while police tried to determine if the thieves were nearby, but the lockdown was ended around noontime.
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