Police dog Dax injured while pursuing suspect: 'Please send positive thoughts'

Dax, a veteran Lake County Sheriff’s Office canine, was injured while chasing a 16-year-old suspect in a wooded area of Zion late Sunday night.

By Daily Herald

A sheriff's deputy in a blue uniform holds a German shepherd as they pose for an outdoor portrait. — Dax and his handler, Deputy John Forlenza.

Dax, a veteran Lake County Sheriff’s Office police dog and among the top in the nation, remains under the care of a veterinarian after being injured Sunday during the apprehension of a fleeing felon.

Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, police were pursuing a vehicle about 11:55 p.m. Sunday when the driver, a 16-year-old male from Zion, struck a department squad car, according to Lake County sheriff’s police.

The driver continued and crashed the stolen car in the 41000 block of North Green Bay Road in unincorporated Zion and then fled on foot, police said.

Sheriff’s K9 Dax and his handler, Deputy John Forlenza, were called to track the fleeing driver believed to be hiding in a wooded area, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Chris Covelli.

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The teen surrendered after being bit by Dax in the torso area, according to Covelli, and was treated for the bite at a hospital. Charges are pending in Illinois and Wisconsin, Covelli said.

For more on this story, go to Dailyherald.com.

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