New Zealand police dog saved by a fellow service dog after having its throat slashed on the job

A police dog left to die after having his throat slashed by a criminal was spared when a fellow service canine gave a third of his own blood in a life-saving transfusion.

New Zealand Police operational patrol dog Kosmo was discovered lying in a pool of blood after being stabbed in the neck in Christchurch last Thursday. 

The four-year-old German Shepherd was responding to a family harm incident with handler Constable Regan Turner when he stopped returning to calls.

Patrol dog Kosmo was on the job when he had his throat slashed by a fleeing perpetrator 

Constable Turner struggled to find his pup in the dark after he stopped returning to calls

Constable Turner struggled to find his pup in the dark after he stopped returning to calls

Kosmo received a 1.5 inch (4cm) cut to the jugular vein in his throat after tracking an alleged offender through rural land.

The Alsatian has been on 'thousands' of call outs during its two years on the job 

The Alsatian has been on ‘thousands’ of call outs during its two years on the job 

The cut narrowly missed his carotid artery. 

When Constable Turner discovered his four-legged companion, who has attended thousands of crimes in his two years on the job, 25 minutes later.

The pooch had already gone into shock from blood loss. 

 ‘I thought he was going to die,’ said Turner, who stars in the current series of NZ police dog documentary Dog Squad.

‘It’s not a feeling I want to experience again.

‘Because it was dark and we couldn’t see, I’d run back and forth past him a couple of times where he was tucked up.

‘It would have been a hard pill to swallow if we’d found him in the daylight and I’d been right there beside him.’ 

Turner called out for Kosmo who didn’t have enough energy to move. 

‘They tell me if we found him a little bit later it probably wouldn’t be the same outcome.’

Kosmo has been milking the attention and 'feeling sorry for himself' said Constable Turner

Kosmo has been milking the attention and ‘feeling sorry for himself’ said Constable Turner

When Turner arrived he immediately ‘jammed [his] thumb in the hole in his throat’ to stem the bleeding.

The pup was airlifted to a 24-hour vet in Christchurch by rescue helicopter.

It was there that fellow cop dog Oza, handled by Constable Craig Moore, donated 550ml of blood, nearly a third of his own supply.

Kosmo will have a few weeks off to recover, but Turner said the ‘usually very boisterous and licky’ dog was planning to milk the attention.

‘Kosmo’s saved me on a few occasions and I can’t thank him enough for what he did.

‘It was either him or me, unfortunately.’

Joshua Luke Cooper, 29, has been charged with intentionally wounding Kosmo.

He was remanded in custody and will reappear in the Christchurch District Court on June 18.  



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