Deputy Chief Adam Palmer played a graphic video of skateboarder Chris Evans smashing a Coast Mountain bus repeatedly with his skateboard, screaming profanities and breaking windows on the passenger side of the vehicle.

That led to a call to the police, who responded with a canine squad. In the ensuing arrest Evans suffered extensive injuries to his leg.

“We want to provide some context because at this point you’ve only heard one side of the story,” said Palmer.

Police recommended charges against Evans but the crown decided to stay them.

In a Province story last week, Evans said he knew he did wrong – but thinks the resulting police-dog attack was way out of line.

Evans says he lost his temper when three buses drove right by him and he smashed the last one with a skateboard – but the vicious attack he suffered was complete overkill.

“For a moment of losing my temper, it’s a huge price to pay,” said the a 33-year-old construction worker. “I lost my apartment, I lost my job and my leg doesn’t work. What I did was wrong, but the repercussions are ridiculous.”

Evans said he required about 100 staples to close his wounds after the attack.

“When the bus took off, I decided to skateboard home,” said Evans. “I didn’t even know there were police around. A police dog should never be the first responder.”

Meanwhile, the Pivot Legal Society is asking the Vancouver Police Department to probe what it calls a “really high” number of instances of police dogs biting suspects.

According to statistics from the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC), between March 2011 and January 2012, 46 per cent of the reportable injuries received from B.C. municipal forces came from police dog bites. The year before it was 48 per cent. A recent OPCC quarterly report states that “most reportable injuries are as a result of police dog bites.”

For a wounded soldier home from Afghanistan, it was a special reunion a long time in the making.

A puppy he adopted on the front lines is now with him again in Bethesda, Md.

Donny Eslinger, 20, encountered the dog while on tour of duty in Afghanistan. He traded three cigarettes to become the dog’s owner. He named the dog Smoke Pup Barbarian because of the transaction.

A mortar attack critically wounded Eslinger in September 2011. He was in treated at the Kandahar Airfield Hospital for a broken leg, broken ribs and multiple internal injuries. When Eslinger was later flown to Germany and then the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for more treatment, Smoke was left behind.

A group called The Puppy Rescue Mission heard about Smoke Pup when Eslinger’s squad leader sent a letter telling Eslinger’s story. The group printed part of that letter on its website:

“Smoke was the only bit of morale that made these kids forget where they were and cope with the tragedy we just experienced. It is amazing how therapeutic a little creature can be. Donny took care of that dog up until he was injured. Many of us in his Platoon would love nothing more than to see Smoke reunited with Donny. It would be the only decent thing we would see come from this place.”

Through the efforts of The Puppy Rescue Mission, the dog arrived in Orlando, Fla., last week.

The dog was then transported to Bethesda on Tuesday, where he was reunited with Eslinger.

UNITED KINGDOM — A dog was caught in a hollowed out hole after getting stuck 20ft up an oak tree.

Tyson the Jack Russell was rescued by firefighters after dashing into the hollow tree and getting trapped halfway up.

It took more than six hours and a team of five men to free the tiny terrier.

Owner Stuart Smirk, of Carrbrook Village, Stalybridge, said: “My dad had been walking Tyson through Carrbrook Heritage trail when it happened.

“When he phoned me to say to he had lost Tyson up a tree I couldn’t believe it.”

Stuart’s dad Simon, 48, tried to coax down the dog – who the family adopted four years ago after he followed Stuart home from college – but failed.

Simon, an electrician for a stage lighting company, said: “It was only when I saw his nose poking out of a hole 20ft up that I realised he was in the tree.

“He just couldn’t, or wouldn’t, come down. My daughter Jenny and her boyfriend came out to help as well as Stuart.

“I contacted my brother and a local tree surgeon before finally being advised by the fire service to ring the RSPCA.”

RSPCA inspector Paul Heaton came out but even he couldn’t reach Tyson – so crews from Stalybridge fire station were called in.

They finally freed him after tying a rope around his neck and feeding it through the tree trunk to lead him down.

Demolition worker Stuart, 20, said: “He is a very mischievous dog but he’s never done anything like this before. “We’re all very grateful to the RSPCA and firefighters for all they did. Most dogs would be tired out by the ordeal but not Tyson, all he wanted to do when he got home was to play.”

Stalybridge crew manager Rob Steele said: “This was a bizarre one to say the least.

“Having served 21 years in the fire and rescue service I’ve seen plenty of cats up a tree but never a dog.”

It’s always so much fun putting together the Stunning Dog Photography post using photos sent to us from the Dog Files Community. Keep those stunning photos coming and I hope to do more and more posts featuring your very own hounds!

To get the real impact of the photos, click on them to see a bigger version!

Photo of Luca by Melissa Gill-Zillmer of Indian Land South Carolina.

Photo of Sadie by Chris Martin of Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Photo of Elvis by Suzy Weaver of Costa Mesa, California.

Photo of Sophie by Suzy Weaver of Costa Mesa, California.

Photo of Buddy by Ross Barringer of San Francisco, California.

Photo of Cali by Julie Melfi in Portland, Oregon.

Photo of Jaxson by Terri Rylander.

Photo of Bella by Yvonne Davidson of Kent, United Kingdom.

Photo of Bruno by Alicia Bane of Freeport, Maine.

Photo of Annabelle by Krys Kocsis of Bolivar. Ohio.

Photo of Maggie by Wendy Severtson of Alberta Canada.

Photo of Lucy by Katherine Langford of Windsor Ontario, Canada.

Photo of Lizzie Beth by Tenzin Landi of Jackson, Tennessee.

Photo of Breton by Steve Omischl of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

Photo of Honey by Nicole Jade McCarthy of Colchester Essex, England.

Dox, center, and Lyon, right, were killed in May during an operation carried out by Military Police.

BRAZIL — Quick, determined and with impeccable senses of smell and hearing, Dox and Lyon lost their lives during a recent police operation.

The two dogs were fatally shot while pursuing suspects in a forest near the city of Ribeirão das Neves on behalf of the Minas Gerais Military Police on May 17.

As soon as the trained German Shepherds located the hiding criminals, they started barking to alert officers they had located the suspects.

“One of the fugitives fired nine rounds and five hit Dox and four hit Lyon,” says Capt. Paulo Roberto Alves, commander of the Minas Gerais Military Police (PMMG) Shock Brigade, where the dogs had trained and served. “They gave their lives to protect police officers.”

But the PMMG took an extra step to honor their canine colleagues.

The courage shown by Dox and Lyon, who had been on the force for six and two years, respectively, inspired the organization to create a Hall of Heroes.

It’s expected to be built this year at the headquarters of the PMMG’s 1st Company for Special Missions, in Contagem.

The hall will contain the ashes of dogs lost in service, as well as plaques and their photographs.

Dox and Lyon will be the first enshrined.

The dogs also were the first to be cremated by the PMMG, on May 20. Prior to their cremation, the officers spent a few minutes with the Dox and Lyon’s remains, paying respect to their fallen heroes.

“It was one of the saddest moments of my life,” says Officer Luís Antônio de Castro Maciel, who was assigned to work with Dox five years ago. “It was like he was family to me.”

Officer Welly Lucindo, who was assigned to work with Lyon more than two years ago, says he “lost a friend.”

“What happened was a real tragedy,” he says. “I’m never going to forget him.”

Alves says the 16 dogs assigned to the unit are considered police officers.

“They train, they’re registered and they work just like any other officer,” he says. “In addition, they learn to give their lives if necessary.”

Police dogs are an invaluable resource when conducting operations, Alves says.

“In dense forests, 70% of the operation depends on the dogs, and only 30% on the human officers,” he adds. “They’re essential.”

“The dogs are one step ahead of the human officers in terms of speed, because of their body types; in hearing, because they can detect infrasound and ultrasound; and in their sense of smell, because they possess somewhere around 200 million olfactory cells, while a human, on average, has around 5,000,” says Sgt. Marcelo Piovesan, who heads the technical training of the War Dogs at the Army Police’s 5th Company in Curitiba in the state of Paraná.

The Federal Highway Police (PRF) in Paraná said the dogs’ performances played a major role in the department’s recent success in its fight against narcotics. The results of the PRF’s operations in Paraná enabled the state lead the nation in crack and marijuana seizures.

“Three police officers would take between 15 to 30 minutes to inspect the baggage on a passenger bus,” says Leonel Weng, a police officer who works with the PRF police dogs. “In two minutes, a dog can let you know if there are drugs on the scene.”

Brazilian Police pay their respects to Dox and Lyon.

Brazilian Police pay their respects to Dox and Lyon.

It’s always so much fun putting together the Stunning Dog Photography post using photos sent to us from the Dog Files Community. Keep those stunning photos coming and I hope to do more and more posts featuring your very own hounds!

To get the real impact of the photos, click on them to see a bigger version!

Photo of Simon by Michael Ian Heitzmann of Clermont Florida.

Photo of Lizzie by Lisa Cook of Centerville, Ohio.

Photo of Theodore by Kimberly M. Wang of New York, NY.

Photo of Carley by Steve Roake of Tampa, Florida.

Photo by Jane Cichoski of Long Branch, New Jersey.

Photo of Grace by Janet Finlay of Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.

Photo of Jack by Martha Schwarzkopf of Niantic, Connecticut.

Photo of Buddy by Rob Webster of Clifton Park, NY.

Photo of Sophie and Sadie-Grace (little one) by Joshua VanDyke of Arlington, Texas.

Photo by Tyrel Kelsey.

Photo of Calysta by Derek Marshall of Tucson, Arizona.

Photo of Sophie by Suzy Weaver.

Photo of Bucky by Robin Bergin of LaGrangeville, New York.

Photo of Frank by Christy Richmond of Owasso, Oklahoma.

Firefighters in New Westminster, British Columbia, rescued a three-legged dog that kept running back into a burning house in an apparent attempt to find its owner, who turned out not be home at the time.

The fire broke out at around 11:30 a.m. PT Friday in the laundry room in the basement of the two-and-a-half story 1930s era wood frame home on 7th Avenue, between 10th and 12th Streets.

New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services launched a massive response to the blaze, which was classed as three-alarm fire due to the proximity of other houses.

Neighbors said that even as thick smoke poured out, “Gypsy,” a three-legged dog, kept trying to get back inside.

The owner was not inside at the time.

By 12:15 p.m., the fire was out and the homeowner had returned.

The house was saved, but the basement and laundry room were gutted.

Neighbors said that the homeowner had been storing Christmas presents in the basement, but they were insured.

Another of the homeowner’s pets, a cat, was found dead inside. A second cat has gone missing.

Memorial Service for Lucky.

Luck is truly a hero among men! RIP Lucky.

Airmen of the 92nd Security Forces Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base paid their respects Thursday to one of their own.

Lucky, a military working dog, survived five tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.

He succumbed to cancer last September at age 10, surviving two previous diagnoses of the disease.

Several dozen service members gathered for a morning memorial service in the base community center.

An orange box with Lucky’s ashes sat next to his portrait atop a travel kennel.

Maj. Garon Shelton, squadron commander, said Lucky saved countless service personnel, sniffing out explosives and securing their missions.

Lucky had a reputation as the hardest-hitting among the seven to eight dogs stationed at Fairchild. “He could take anyone down to the ground,” Shelton said during the service.

He became a media star following his survival from two previous bouts of cancer and received a Hometown Heroes award from the American Red Cross in 2010.

He was in Kyrgyzstan completing his fifth tour when his latest handler, Staff Sgt. Chris Fall, discovered a new tumor on his rear left leg last Aug. 20, five days before their return to Fairchild.

The tumor grew quickly. Lucky was moved to a veterinary center at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, where he died Sept. 30, Fall said.

“It was pretty tough,” Fall said of Lucky’s death, acknowledging the close relationship between military working dogs and soldiers.

“He’s in doggie heaven,” Fall said. “He’s probably running around all day eating doggie bones.”

A Belgian Malinois, Lucky was known for his keen nose and no-nonsense tenacity. The dog was cool under fire and could close on a fleeing suspect with a burst of speed, traits that run deep in this favored sheepdog breed.

Lucky underwent training at age 1 at the Department of Defense Military Working Dog School at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

Military dogs train throughout their careers with their handlers.

Lucky arrived at Fairchild in July 2003 and worked with nine handlers during his career.

In 2008, Lucky sniffed out an explosive device fastened to a generator at a forward base in Afghanistan, averting potential disaster.

In another incident, Lucky and a squad of soldiers survived an improvised bomb attack on a road in Iraq.

During his time at Fairchild, Lucky provided protection for presidential, vice presidential and congressional visits. Lucky was also called out on 31 emergency events locally, including bomb threats.

The soldiers said Lucky, like other military working dogs, was absolutely fearless and would sacrifice his life for them.

At Fairchild, Lucky befriended a female Malinois, Dakota, who was at Lucky’s memorial service. She was described as Lucky’s girlfriend.

All of the working dogs are recognized when their careers end, either through a retirement ceremony or a memorial if they die on duty.

During the service, Chaplain Capt. Craig Nakagawa said, “This dog was capable of love and therefore had a soul.”

Sadly, Major Shelton said, cancer was the “final and only battle he would lose.”

Below is a video of Lucky training in Afghanistan.

Lucy, a therapy dog from South Jersey, is quite the handful.

Actually, she’s about half a handful.

And as of Saturday, the 3-year-old mini Yorkshire terrier is the newly crowned “world’s smallest working dog” by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Just 6 inches long, 5.7 inches high and 2.5 fluffy pounds, Lucy was unfazed by the huge honor and heightened attention, says owner Sally Leone Montufar.

“She gets a lot of attention already,” Montufar said. “She stops traffic.”

Lucy snatched the title away from a 6.6-pound dog in Japan.

“I didn’t want Lucy to unseat him because he’s employed by the Japanese police as a search-and-rescue dog,” she says. “But she’s a different kind of working dog.”

Homeless and out of work two years ago, Lucy now works as a therapy dog through the Cherry Hill, N.J., program Leashes of Love, visiting hospitals, nursing homes and special schools often in dog dresses and bonnets.

Montufar contacted Guinness in November and learned of the diminutive dog’s admittance in December.

“I said I bet she’s not the tiniest, but I’m sure she’s the tiniest therapy dog,” recalls Montufar, who also owns a Cockapoo.

And not every dog is cut out for employment, or certification as a therapy dog.

“She had to be trained to sit for long periods, lay for long periods, not be flustered when there’s wheelchairs and walkers all around,” she says, “And she has to be able to walk for me and be nonaggressive.”

But it’s not all work for Lucy. According to Lucy’s Facebook fan page, her many interests include “food, chasing cats who are 10X her size, cuddling by the fire, twirling for treats.”

But Lucy’s life could have been far from fancy had her trip to the pound not been sidetracked by a stop into Paw Dazzle.

A woman entered the pet boutique with several dogs hoping someone would claim them before the shelter did.

But Montufar was more focused on the woman’s Juicy Couture dog carrier, specifically the nose poking out of it.

“(The designer tote bag) was very beautiful,” she says, “and out came this peanut.”

“This peanut” was a freakishly small, skinny pup by the name of Lucy. Along with medical help, Montufar knew to give Lucy a home, and then a job.

“She was so pitiful and lethargic,” Montufar said. “I couldn’t leave her. I didn’t know if I could save her or not. And kind of as a mother would, I said I’m going to help this one. I’m not going to turn my back. The others looked pretty healthy, she didn’t.”