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Police Officer Responds to ‘Vicious Dog’ Call, Ends Up With New Best Friend

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Officer Waskiewicz And Bo
Officer Waskiewicz and Bo. Photo courtesy of Baltimore Humane Society.

When Baltimore Police officer Dan Waskiewicz responded to a ‘vicious dog’ call, what he found instead was a new best friend!

When he arrived on scene, officer Waskiewicz found a frightened, obviously neglected pit bull, being chased by children that were yelling and throwing bottles at him. He called the scared dog over, his tail tucked between his legs and panting heavily, and offered him some water. The so-called ‘vicious dog’ quickly sat down beside him and began licking his pants. Realizing the pit bull was no threat, he put the dog into his squad car – that’s when the real kisses began!

Rather than call animal control, who Waskiewicz feared would euthanize the affectionate dog, he drove him to the local animal shelter himself. During the ride, the pit bull sat beside him, smothering him with kisses before curling up in the seat beside him and taking a nap.

A few days later, the officer, an avid animal lover, returned to the shelter to check on the dog he rescued. Because he had still not been claimed, Officer Waskiewicz adopted the dog himself, named him Bo, and gave him a wonderful forever home with his two other dogs!

Officer Waskiewicz’s kindness earned him a certificate of appreciation from Baltimore Humane Society.

Baltimore Humane Society’s Jen Swanson told CBS DC that far too often, officers respond to these types of calls with violent action. “But when Dan Waskiewicz answered the call he first observed the situation calmly before he acted. We believe he deserves high praise and is truly an asset to the animals and citizens of the city he serves.”

THank you, officer Waskiewicz, from the bottom of our hearts to the tips of our tails.

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93 Comments

93 Comments

  1. Avatar Of Krystal

    Krystal

    says:

    God Bless you and all the people who are just like you

  2. Avatar Of Random Generic

    Random Generic

    says:

    A true servant of the community. You have to acknowledge that the officer took a big risk…He deserves recognition and accolades for his action. Unfortunately, he’ll probably be reprimanded and have to endure “retraining”.

    • Avatar Of Bill Nelson

      bill nelson

      says:

      Yeah,Because his examble shows the other cowardly cops who just want to shoot in the light of how it should be done.

  3. Avatar Of Charlotte

    charlotte

    says:

    I forgot to say great job officer you have a forever friend in Bo.

  4. Avatar Of Charlotte

    charlotte

    says:

    I must say….there are alot of idiots and uncompassionate people in this world and they should keep comments to theirselves. I have a pit….we just got him this year. I also have a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old. Now I have to tell you….Harley as my 4 yr old named him because he loves his daddys bike. He is the most stupid loveable dog I have ever owned besides my pomeranian lol. He is protective over his yard but a big sweetheart to our family. I was more fearful when hubby brought his chow….but she is great with my kids and family. The “vicious” one seeing how that is all often used to much is my lil chihuahua. But she is only aggressive to the bears that come in the yard. Every animal has the potential to snap but if raised in a loving environment most likely will not unless they are protecting their homes or humans…..then they are just doing what comes natural. Protecting their pack!

  5. Avatar Of Janice

    janice

    says:

    our German Shepard was accused of biting a neighbor child, after talking to the child we found he was hitting our dog in the face and his hand hit the inside of our dogs mouth,(it was a hot day and the dog was panting) the child then said he was bitten, I did learn the dog was to be trusted it was the people that needed to be watched!

  6. Avatar Of Bonnie Rohrbaugh

    Bonnie Rohrbaugh

    says:

    OMG, this brought tears to my eyes – too often these animals are abuses and if no one takes the time or gives them the chance, they are assumed violent and destroyed. God Bless this man for what he did. What a great guy and what a lucky dog!

  7. Avatar Of Mary Ross

    Mary Ross

    says:

    Thank you, Officer!

    Dogs have a pure heart. Now if we could just raise kids to have the same. Lucky doggie!

  8. Avatar Of Tammie

    Tammie

    says:

    This story really makes my hart smile what a wonderful person that officer is. May God always bless him for his loving act.

  9. Avatar Of Pmrich

    PMRich

    says:

    The call was for a ‘vicious dog’ and the scene described is a pack of vicious children. Glad this officer could save the dog from the people.

  10. Avatar Of Ron

    Ron

    says:

    Kudos to another fine Officer for serving and responding to protect, we have a Pit and he is exactly as mentioned here. He constantly wants his belly rubbed and is a well trained dog. Thanks Officer…

  11. Avatar Of David David says:

    Finally a sensible police officer when it comes to dogs!

  12. Avatar Of Eric

    Eric

    says:

    This makes my day. So glad “Bo” found a loving home. Thank you officer Waskiewicz.

  13. Avatar Of Kittymomma

    kittymomma

    says:

    May God bless this young police officer for giving a scared dog a chance at a loving forever home. It was also a blessing they didn’t live in one of the many backward cities that require pitbulls to be automatically killed because they are a “banned” bread. Those children should have been required to volunteer at their local animal shelter to learn some empathy and caring for other living creatures.
    May Officer Waskiewicz and Bo have many, many years together.

  14. Avatar Of El Gato

    El gato

    says:

    I love dogs! They are truly a gift from God, and only people can make a dog mean. The brats who were taunting this dog should have been gunned down. I bet they were darkies!

  15. Avatar Of Webjak 1

    Webjak 1

    says:

    “Baltimore Humane Society’s Jen Swanson told CBS DC that far too often, officers respond to these types of calls with violent action. “But when Dan Waskiewicz answered the call he first observed the situation calmly before he acted.”

    Great job by the Officer but no need to slam the police at the end of the article. A dangerous dog can’t be dealt with the same way as someone’s friendly, scared pet.

  16. Avatar Of M

    M

    says:

    A wonderful account of a human doing a terrific job of protecting a life. May all good things go to this officer! He deserves all the respect and kudos possible for his noble act.

  17. Avatar Of Art

    art

    says:

    we need more people like this guy on the planet, all pitbulls are not monsters. you have to teach a dog to be mean..what a wonderful loving story.. way to go Officer….Baltimore’s Finest!!!!

  18. those rotten kids need some work

  19. Avatar Of Terry

    Terry

    says:

    I have a police officer friend who encountered a female pit bull, while on a drug raid. A fellow officer convinced my friend to give the dog a home, which Steve did. She just needed some TLC, which she got, & was the ring bearer for Steve’s wedding. He & his new wife had to share the spotlight with ” Saki”, the pit bull. Thank you officer for saving “Bo.” Some dogs just need a chance & some love.

  20. Avatar Of Joanne

    joanne

    says:

    GOD bless this officer !!!! Mabe some day your new BFF (best friend forever) will save your life as you did his, lets pray there’s never a need for that HOWEVER it’s good to know a damn good cop has a damn good dog behind him!!!!!!!!!!

  21. Avatar Of Jim

    Jim

    says:

    Thanks for renewing my faith in humanity

  22. Avatar Of Mark Richards

    mark richards

    says:

    A thinking police officer? Somethng tells me we’re not dealing with a Phys Ed major here! Thank God!!!

    • Avatar Of John

      John

      says:

      What an a-hole you are. You have no idea what it is to be selected as an officer candidate or, obviously what it’s like to be a cop. You just read all the sensationalized article that flood the internet about the handful of bad cops, not the tens of thousands of good ones. Too bad for you, brainwashed one.

  23. Avatar Of Amber

    Amber

    says:

    This warms my heart!! Kudos to the officer 😉

  24. Avatar Of Janet

    Janet

    says:

    Excellent! Now can we get those nasty children punished and re-educated for chasing and throwing stones at the clearly harmless animal?

  25. Avatar Of Driftedsnow

    driftedsnow

    says:

    First-time-ever response to an on-line article. Kudos, Mr. Policeman!!!

  26. Avatar Of Alicia

    alicia

    says:

    thank you sir for your action and reaction. It takes a very kind and caring human being to recognize an animal in need of love and help. He will be your buddy forever. stay safe and once again, thank you from Michigan!

  27. Avatar Of Catsmiler

    catsmiler

    says:

    Finally, some good news out of Baltimore…Wonderful story, wonderful ending…

  28. Avatar Of Kasey Castus

    Kasey Castus

    says:

    At last, a true hero in uniform, unlike so many other thugs with badges.

    • Avatar Of John

      John

      says:

      Totally unnecessary comment, though it’s obvious you’ve been brainwashed by the media’s incessant need to post articles about cops-gone-bad. So, YOU only read about the thugs, but there are tens of thousands of good-guy cops out there who way out-number the bad ones.

  29. Avatar Of Carol Wilson

    Carol Wilson

    says:

    Thank You Thank You Thank You That will be one of the best pets you’ve ever had.

  30. Avatar Of Joe

    Joe

    says:

    We need a lot more cops like this guy!

    • Avatar Of John

      John

      says:

      There ARE a lot more cops like this guy, but we only ever read about the small minority of bad cops.

      • Avatar Of Amy

        Amy

        says:

        I have several “feel good police articles” posted on my FB page! Lots of my friends are married to police officers and I really hate all the negative publicity going on these days, this is NOT the only “Good Cop” story being circulated at the moment! The police are mostly genuine and good folks that put on a badge and a gun and go to work every day and they just want to go home to their families at night!! They are about helping people – but most of them are not going to give 2 shits about a dog, and a pit bull there has been a complaint about for that matter, Come on, John, Really!?? Give this Guy credit where credit is due!

  31. Avatar Of Ohio Guy

    Ohio Guy

    says:

    My cousin always says that adopted is the best type of dog and I agree. We have a Chihuahua and she’s a great friend and pet.

  32. Avatar Of Marty Dee

    Marty Dee

    says:

    Time to euthenize these shitty little brats instead.

  33. Avatar Of Corinne Anderson

    corinne anderson

    says:

    Great officer and great dog!! And I love the commenters on here, my kind of folks, wish I could meet you all and be friends.

  34. Avatar Of Dianne Dianne says:

    We need more police like this out on all of our cities streets. He needs to teach other officers the gentle way of taking care of Vicious dog, along with Observing the situation calmly instead of shooting before thinking. God Bless you sir and Bo

  35. Avatar Of Joe Parsons

    joe parsons

    says:

    This helps restore my faith in humanity. Thank God it was he who answered the call. 2 thumbs up officer!

  36. Avatar Of Elaine Waring

    Elaine Waring

    says:

    Well i think he is bloody amazing the bloke , well done to him ,the owners of the dog do not deserve the poor animal ,these kind of dogs are so slated these days for being dangerous THEY ARE NOT its the morons who buy these dogs to fight not to love as this one so undeservedly needs and i think he is gona get just that …lucky doggy !!

  37. Avatar Of G.e. Stinson

    g.e. stinson

    says:

    this man is awesome. give him a pay raise. big up!

  38. Avatar Of Sarah Burdette

    Sarah Burdette

    says:

    Nice to hear about this. I have a pit and he does everything to keep from getting into a fight. He spends most of his time laying on his back and with all 4’s straight up in the air. This article sounds like the dog was fortunate and found a great home!

  39. Avatar Of Christian Brown

    Christian Brown

    says:

    It goes to show that not all cops are bad or psychologically impaired. Thanks goodness for that!

  40. Avatar Of Susanw

    susanw

    says:

    thank u officer for recognizing how wonderful this dog is and adopting him to give him a loving home! We need more people like u in this world

  41. Avatar Of Cathy

    Cathy

    says:

    Thank you Officer for not judging pit bulls. They want the love and affection as much as the next dog. I hope he lectured those nasty children for their actions. Shame on them. And good for you. You deserve much more than an award!!

  42. Avatar Of Martha Jones Martha Jones says:

    Good cop, great story!!

  43. What was done about the young hooligans that were terrorizing this so called ‘vicious’ dog of aggressive breed? This made me sick, and then delighted. I wish I could shake this police officer’s hand. I also wish that in my (rented) house, I could have a dog. It’d be a pit bull. Or a rottie. Or a boxer. Or an American bull dog…I could go on and on, but the breeds I mentioned are deemed by some idiotic entity to be ‘aggressive’ breeds. How stupid can people be? And why are these cruel and inhuman mutants put in charge of deciding what, where, who and why dogs and other animals are, and when to euthanize? I’d like to ‘humanely’ euthanize a couple of them.

  44. Avatar Of Mj

    MJ

    says:

    Here is a case where the humans are the vicious ones. Kids chasing a dog and throwing things at it…and these are the same kids that will raise pits to fight.

  45. Avatar Of Carolyn

    Carolyn

    says:

    Glad to hear that there are officers who will observe & use good judgement. Kudos!!

  46. Avatar Of Lulu Villarreal

    Lulu Villarreal

    says:

    This is such a great story! Pitbulls have such a bad rep. This officer is a hero for what he did for this defenseless dog! Is he single 😉

  47. Avatar Of Lyn Collina

    Lyn Collina

    says:

    Thank you so much for being a great person. I had just seen a video of a cop shooting an rotweiller for barking at him and this helped cure some of my pain.

  48. Avatar Of Charlene

    Charlene

    says:

    Thank you, you will be so blessed for your kindness.

  49. Avatar Of Kathy Cavanaugh

    Kathy Cavanaugh

    says:

    So nice to hear stories about police officers and dogs with happy endings! Glad that this dog has a forever home and thank you to Officer Waskiewicz for handling the call with caring and compassion!

  50. Avatar Of Cathy Carr

    cathy carr

    says:

    Your the best Officer whish other people in authority takes the time to evaluate the scences and cercumstances these poor dogs live with. Many are innocent if people take the time to see. Glad Bo got a forever loving home

  51. Avatar Of Rain

    Rain

    says:

    awesome story I love happy endings! Great guy!

  52. Avatar Of Shawna

    Shawna

    says:

    Officer Waskiewicz is a hero in my book. Too many people accuse dogs of being vicious when they are simply acting out of fear that is usually brought on by humans. Of course I understand that sometimes a dog is past the point of rescue by the time the officials get called in but I appreciate that officer Waskiewicz took the time and gave Bo a shot at a great life. I wish there were more people out there like him.

  53. Avatar Of Carolyn

    Carolyn

    says:

    My daughter-in-law shared this story and I am so glad she did.

  54. Avatar Of Mary

    Mary

    says:

    thank God for real life stories like this, it restores my faith in humanity.

  55. Avatar Of Emily

    Emily

    says:

    Kudos to this officer who had common sense and compassion for animals! There need to be more people like him on this planet! Thank you officer Waskiewicz for adopting this poor pup and giving him the chance to experience love like all animals deserve.

  56. Avatar Of Stella

    Stella

    says:

    What happened with the children that were mistreating this supposed vicious dog? Have they been educated properly or have their parents been notified about their bad behavior?

    • Exactly! Why are children chasing and throwing things at an animal who is running away? I understand having fear of a dog and running from it, but if the animal is supposedly vicious why were these children not attempting to get away from the dog? Children need to be taught to respect an animal and treat an unknown one with caution, but kindness.

  57. Avatar Of Mildred

    Mildred

    says:

    This guy deserves a good pat on the back and a reward.Sometimes I think calls are made to see some police officer come just to shoot a dog. If children were chasing this dog common sense tells you that if the dog was mean it would have been the other way around. Maybe the kids parents should have been a little smarter. Sounds like the officer got a great dog.

  58. Avatar Of Tracy Tracy says:

    That is just great. All too often they respond and want to kill the dog before the dog even has a chance. Thank you so much

    • Avatar Of Mark

      Mark

      says:

      A chance to do what? Sink it’s teeth into my arm or leg? Clamp its jaws around my neck? No. Sorry. If I’m the responding officer and that dog makes so much as a single move that indicates, to me, that this “gentle and loving” dog is about to be anything BUT that… it’s going down.

      • Avatar Of Leon Knight

        Leon Knight

        says:

        @Mark. Do all of us a favor and STFU!!!

      • Avatar Of Girl With Dog

        Girl With Dog

        says:

        @Mark – If you are a police officer, never come near my home or my dog. My dog is my family. My dog barks at strangers. According to what you typed above, you would act rashly and destroy my family.

      • Avatar Of Ez

        EZ

        says:

        Mark, I hope you are still checking these comments, because I just wanted to tell you that you are a complete idiot. I have a pit mix, my mom has one and so does my sister. All were rescued at the local shelter and all are the most affectionate animals I have ever been around.

        You hear stories about packs of pits that are kept as fighting dogs or guard dogs and are treated poorly, because of their strength and stature when the do bite, it is bad. there are more attacks from common ‘good’ dog breeds in the US by far than pits, such as the Pomeranian (that you mention above), a golden retriever, and even labs. its just these dogs are not as strong and are not commonly mistreated so the outcome is not as bad. and since the media does not care to report them, you never hear about these attacks.

        read the story again, the officer was called to a vicious dog that kids were throwing objects at and yelling at, it was not vicious at all. and could you blame the dog if it had enough and attacked one of these stupid kids? I would not. but we all would have heard that in the news.

        I challenge you to go to your local shelter and spend an afternoon with the dogs there (they are all pit bulls) you will have a much different appreciation for the breed, who knows, maybe you will end up with a new buddy, sounds like you need one anyway.

      • Avatar Of Jon

        jon

        says:

        It’s not my gentle pit-bull you have to worry about, it’s me, if you’re the idiot cop that “responds” to any situation at my house. You are exactly the kind of paranoid, power-tripping, ignorant, dummy that gives good police officers a bad name. what a disgrace to the badge/profession. i bet you’re real popular with your co-workers, and the people you’re paid to serve, moron.

      • Avatar Of Nuri

        Nuri

        says:

        troll.

  59. Avatar Of Robin Weeks

    Robin Weeks

    says:

    You did a great thing. I hope people all around hear about how wonderful pitbulls are and stop euthenizing them.

    • Avatar Of Ray Thomas Ray Thomas says:

      Pit bulls are gentle and loving until humans train them to be otherwise, and they’re good at that, too.

      • Avatar Of Mark

        Mark

        says:

        And this proves what? Only that THIS Pit Bull is “gentle and loving”. So you’re saying, then, that when 98 out of 100 dog attacks (and don’t get picky on the number, I’m only using it to make a point) just happen to be Pit Bulls… that in each and every one of those, it’s because they were TRAINED THAT WAY? Or… it is possible, that, in SOME of THEM, it might just be “bad DNA” or some other “trait” based on generations of inbreeding and “mixing”?

        Why is it we ever hear of a pack of POMERANIANS that viciously attack a person and rip someone’s face off? In nearly every case where that DOES happen… it’s a Pit Bull.

        Legally speaking, “Pit Bulls” are one of a number of breeds (including Chows, Rotteweilers, and others) that are considered “inherently vicious” and to have a “known propensity toward viciousness”. Do the courts just make this up? Is it just a conspiracy against a particular breed? Why would such dogs be on that list?

        • Avatar Of Joy

          Joy

          says:

          You don’t here about packs of poms attacking because anyone can drop kick one of those dogs, but as an ex dog groomer I can tell you those little dogs can be quite evil, they just don’t have the size to back it. Also the amount of pit attacks is not as high as you think as alot of those dogs that are called pits are not really pits. There are many types of bully breeds like the boxer,bull terrier,pit bull, stafford terrier,alapaha blue blood,american bulldog,bullmastiff,french bulldog, old english bull dog,renascence bulldogge,victorian bulldog and even the boston terrier are all bully breeds. This is just off the top of my head and any mix of these breeds have been called pits even though they are not, even rott mixes have been called pit mixes just because of the square head. Just because a dog has a square head does not mean it is a pitt or mixed with a pit.Also the American Temperamant Test Society, Inc. (ATTS)has tested over 25000 dogs across 200 breeds and concluded that the pit bull,amstaf, and staffordshire all ranked in the mid 80th to low 90th% in terms of friendly disposition, that is on par with dogs like the beagle and the australian shepherd. It is just the hype that the news puts on it that make them seem so bad. If you pay attention when a report about a non pit attacking is put out there the story is always titled as dog attack and the breed is mention somewhere in the story if at all but if its a supposed pit attack it is plastered on the headline in big letters “pitt attack” so of course when people think of dog attacks they think pit.Everyone shouild just remember that all dogs no matter the breed or size have the ability for viciousness as they are predetors, its not like this is a grass eating horse or something they are meat eaters and natural hunters.

          • Avatar Of Marilyn

            Marilyn

            says:

            Thanks for the thorough reply, with substance and not just emotion. Would be great if we didn’t label people or animals.

          • Avatar Of Some Guy

            Some Guy

            says:

            Seriously – you list the French Bulldog and the Boston Terrier as “bully” breeds – claiming that news stories of Pit Bull attacks might actually be from these little guys? (I know their ancestry BTW).

            Last time at the shelter I leaned over at one of the dogs and said, “Hi doggie” and the dog snarled at me. I’ll give you three choices as to what it was – mixed Pit Bull, Boston Terrier or French Bulldog.

            A former neighbor’s Pit attacked our dog four times, including ripping through a screen door and coming in our house.

            My opinion? Pits are for guys who are worried they have a small “package”.

          • Avatar Of Phil Kelley

            Phil Kelley

            says:

            It is far easier for a “grass-eating horse” to injure or kill a human than it is for ANY dog to do so, although most equine>human injuries are accidental or a function of human error. The largest dog breed out there is in the maximum 200-pound mass range. Large “working horses” mass ten times that and even a light saddle horse tips in at 600 pounds. Add to that the fact that a large percentage of canine>human injuries result from human stupidity, such as that the human attempted to break up a dog fight or to touch an injured dog. If you believe all horses are docile just get between a stallion and a mare in season.

        • Avatar Of Ez

          EZ

          says:

          I challenge you to go to your local shelter and spend an afternoon with the dogs there (they are all pit bulls) you will have a much different appreciation for the breed, who knows, maybe you will end up with a new buddy, sounds like you need one anyway.

  60. Avatar Of Roberta Roberta says:

    We need more people like office Waskiewicz.

  61. Avatar Of Amy Rogers

    Amy Rogers

    says:

    a true hero in my heart….

  62. Avatar Of Jon L Hull Jon L Hull says:

    What a truly touching story about a policeman/dog situation. We get to see so few of the “good cop” stories and instead are overfed the exception to the rule incidents of poor judgement or over reaction. Thanks for a feel good report, it is much appreciated by this civilian.

  63. Avatar Of Dee Rader

    Dee Rader

    says:

    This is so precious and sweet! Officer Waskiewicz is a hero for sure! Bo is one lucky pooch to have found his forever home with Officer Waskiewicz!

  64. Avatar Of Donna

    Donna

    says:

    This is the best thing ever for this dog, the police officer fell in love with Bo, and took him in, what could be better than that, nothing!

  65. Avatar Of Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

    Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

    says:

    Well done! So glad to see not yet another “Cop Shoots Dog” story for a change!

  66. Avatar Of Wanda Ratliff

    wanda ratliff

    says:

    Thankyou Officer for your kindness to this Lucky dog now..

  67. Avatar Of Wanda Ratliff

    wanda ratliff

    says:

    Thankyou Officer for your kindness…

  68. Avatar Of Karen Munno Karen Munno says:

    I wish all Police Officers would handle this type of situation as Officer Waskiewicz did. This frightened dog knew who he could trust this man. He’s a true angel!

  69. Avatar Of Gail

    Gail

    says:

    Kudos to Office Waskiewicz……. we need more thoughtful officers like you!

  70. Avatar Of Louise

    louise

    says:

    Thank you officer…you have renewed my faith in the police! Hope he is happy!

  71. Avatar Of Sandra Sellar

    Sandra Sellar

    says:

    Thank you so much to officer Waskiewicz. Too many times people abuse animals and then claim them to be vicious; they get put down without a “trial”. It’s nice to see someone take pity on a defenseless animal. It’s also great that he adopted the dog himself. He IS a hero!

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