A U.S. Border Patrol K9 is in quarantine after escaping its handler’s kennel and mauling a bicyclist in a Chula Vista neighborhood over the weekend, police told NBC 7 on Tuesday.
The bicyclist was attacked by the dog just before 4 a.m. Sunday morning near the intersection of Olympic Parkway and Windingwalk Street in the Eastlake area of Chula Vista.
Chula Vista Police Lt. Eric Thunberg told NBC 7 that when officers arrived, they were able to pull the dog off the bicyclist before eventually corralling it.
The 47-year-old male victim was taken to a local hospital and underwent extensive surgery, including skin grafts to both arms, Thunberg said.
He is expected to survive.
The dog is described to be a shepherd breed.
Shortly after the attack, a nearby resident reported to police that his dog had disappeared from the kennel in his backyard Saturday night.
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According to Thunberg, when officers interviewed the man, who is a Border Patrol dog handler, they “put two and two together” and realized the same dog had mauled the bicyclist.
Border Patrol spokeswoman Wendi Lee declined to comment on the incident, saying that Chula Vista Police is handling the investigation.
The K9 has been quarantined at the City of Chula Vista’s Animal Care facility.
