UPDATE: Hall-of-Fame Dog Killer Pleads Guilty

May 1, 2001 Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

If you've been with us for a while, you may recall an article we ran earlier this year entitled "Purina Hall of Fame Honors Four Incredible Dogs".

Bandit, a police dog with the Sydney RCMP was awarded posthumously the Service Dog of the Year Award, an honor that has only been bestowed upon five dogs in 33 years.

If you had heard Corporal Rick Mosher's speech at the ceremony, you would have understood the magnitude of this dog's valor.  Despite being wounded during a pursuit, his spinal cord severed, Bandit continued to engage the assailant in combat, affording Cpl. Mosher the precious seconds needed to draw his weapon and apprehend the suspect (read the full story here).

Today, Ian Matthew MacDonald, 23, of Cape Breton, NS pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing the dog.  MacDonald will be sentenced on May 8, 2001.

Bandit died from his knife-inflicted injuries, but not without leaving us with a profound understanding of his selfless sacrifice.

As his partner told us at the ceremony, "Bandit was a truly exceptional police service dog, a true, loyal friend and the best partner a police officer could ever have."

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