SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — A San Diego Police K9 who was wounded in the line of duty is back on patrol.
Hondo was a stabbed in December when responding to a vandalism call involving a man waving a knife at officers.
“He made a full recovery and he is back to work,” said Officer Mitch Tani, SDPD Canine Officer.
Tani, is Hondo's handler who showed CBS 8 some of the drills the canine goes through such as jumping over obstacles, crawling under fences and Hondo did it without a struggle.
“Now that he is back, it’s like nothing happened other than some missing patches of fur. No change in behavior,” said Tani.
The missing fur is where the three-year-old Belgian Malinois was stabbed on his side and chest and was cut around his paws.
“You can see right here, his fur is still growing back from where he was stabbed,” said Tani.
On December 17, while responding to a vandalism call, 36-year-old suspect Dedrick Jones, was reportedly swinging a knife at officers.
Police say Hondo was unleashed and then stabbed multiple times by Jones who was then taken into custody.
“The worst of his stab wounds were straight into his chest. The vet was concerned it could pierce his airway or jugular, so they needed to make sure that that wasn't compromised,” said Tani.
Hondo's handler, is a 10-year veteran on the force and has been a K9 officer for almost two years. This is his first dog who has been injured on duty.
“It was not easy to watch Jones stabbing my friend, my police dog, but at the same time he was able to give us that advantage to safely take him [Jones] into custody,” said Tani.
This wasn’t the first time for Jones. He was already on probation for stabbing San Diego Police K9, Titan, in January 2021.
“It's disappointing he had the opportunity to do this again,” said Tani.
While it wasn’t easy for Hondo to slow down, he was off duty for two weeks to recover.
“His marching orders were to keep him down and keep him relaxed from too much activity. But being a Malinois having some high drive and wanting to play and get back to work it was a little harder recovery,” said Tani. “He made it hard on himself.”
Tani credits Hondo's quick thinking and healing to the San Diego Police K9 training program.
“Our dogs are only as successful as the training they get before we take them out into the field,” said Tani.
Underneath the badge when Hondo is not working, is a sweet and social pup.
Dedrick Jones is in jail being held without bail and scheduled to be back in court on March 28.
WATCH RELATED: Man arrested for stabbing of San Diego police dog (December 2021)