Newspaper tipster Bob Downing was bitten by a police dog as he helped officers who were chasing a burglary suspect.
The Birmingham Evening Mail's horse racing editor was woken in the middle of the night by the sound of a police helicopter circling his home in Rowley Regis.
He went outside and saw several police officers.
"One of them asked if the dog could come into the back garden and I assumed they wanted me to open the back gate," he said.
"As I did so, the police dog-handler lifted up a fence panel and the dog rushed through. I was the first person the dog saw and it just bit me instinctively.
"Before I knew what was happening, it had sunk its teeth into my arm. I yelled out in pain and my arm is still very sore."
Bob (53) was treated at Sandwell General Hospital for a wound to his left forearm. But he told the Evening Mail that he still loved dogs.
"The police were just doing their job and you can't blame the dog - it must have thought I was the burglar."
The paper used the story as a page lead, with Bob, police dog Rhys and handler Glyn Webb reunited for a picture.
PC Webb said Rhys was trained to react to movement.
"We had chased this man for half a mile and believed he had gone to ground in Bob's garden.
"Bob went to open his back gate at the same time as I lifted up a fence panel. Rhys put his head through the gap, saw Bob move and instinctively bit him. We are sorry for what happened."
Police have questioned a man about burglary
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