PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police regularly get calls to pick up stray animals. According to ACCT Philly, police have brought in almost 400 from the streets since January. But for a few Temple University police officers, they helped turn a worrisome dog’s attitude upside down.
While patrolling the area of 18th and Diamond streets, two Temple cops were flagged down by neighbors about a dog in the area barking and behaving aggressively.
According to police, the dog was nearly hit by oncoming traffic Thursday morning, so they put on their sirens to stop cars and get the pup out of harm’s way.
Neighbors told officers they believed the dog was aggressive, but once they gave it food and water, the dog captured their hearts.
“She just came back to life,” said Officer Heru Shabazz. “She’s jumping all over me, listening to his commands, playing with the other dogs. It was good to see.”
“She’s not aggressive like people thought,” said Officer Steve Duda. “She was probably just scared, if anything. Dogs tend to do that when they get scared. They bark and they don’t know what’s going on.”
Officers named the mastiff mix Diamond after the street they found her on, and because she was a “diamond in the rough.”
“Very obedient dog,” Duda added. “She drank a lot of water — you could tell she was very thirsty. So we just took care of her and after that, she was perfectly fine.”
They brought her to ACCT Philly, where she is expected to be placed in a foster home. The shelter said Diamond has no noted injuries, and her rescuers plan to check up on her very soon.
Shabazz said it was a rewarding experience, especially being only a month into policing.
“Hopefully we can follow back up and make sure she gets in a good home,” he said.
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