How a grass seed turned into months of hell for police dog, Bandit

Police dog Bandit was rushed to the emergency vet after his handler saw he had a swollen belly – it was six months before he was back on duty.

The “goodest of good boys”, police dog Bandit, is finally on the mend after a grass seed sent him on a six-month health journey, including two weeks in ICU.

In July 2022, Bandit, who has been an operational police dog since 2019, was rushed to an after-hours emergency vet after his handler noticed he had a swollen belly.

“Overnight he had gone from being a vibrant, energetic, highly-trained police dog to a shadow of his former self,” SA Police posted to Facebook.

Vets diagnosed Bandit with septic peritonitis – an infection in the abdomen – after a grass seed entered his body.

PD Bandit was in a critical condition after a grass seed made his way into his abdomen – he is now on the mend. Picture: SAPOL

Bandit was in septic shock and, with his organs starting to fail, he fell into a critical condition according to Bandit’s vet, specialist surgeon and managing director of Small Animals Specialist Hospital, Ryan Taggart.

Vets quickly prepared the police dog for emergency surgery which involved draining four litres of pus from his stomach.

After the surgery, he required a blood transfusion and remained in a critical condition.

Unfortunately, two days later, Bandit had to undergo a second surgery following an internal bleed before he was placed into critical care where he had continuous intensive monitoring, cardiovascular support, feeding support, oxygen therapy and further blood transfusions.

PD Bandit had two emergency surgeries following a grass seed incident. Picture: SAPOL

Police commissioner Grant Stevens and deputy commissioner Linda Williams waited with “bated breath” for any news on Bandit’s condition. Picture: SAPOL

“Every single member of the dog operations unit was devastated by the news of Bandit’s serious condition.

“They visited him often, for nothing more than a pat and a chat because they knew it brightened Bandit’s spirits.

“He would muster his energy to give all the handlers a lick and a wag of his tail to show his appreciation, despite being gravely ill,” SA Police wrote.

“Seeing Bandit fight such a fierce battle for survival brought many of the handlers to tears.”

Police commissioner Grant Stevens and deputy commissioner Linda Williams were also involved, including everyone across SAPOL, who waited with “bated breath” for any news on Bandit’s condition.

PD Bandit is now on the mend. Picture: SAPOL

Mr Taggart said the police were “amazing” to deal with.

“Bandit is an amazing dog,” he said.

Finally, after two weeks in ICU, Bandit stabilised, responded to treatment and was reunited with his handler.

Bandit has now officially passed all his health checks and is set to return to operations in June this year.

Originally published as How a grass seed turned into months of hell for police dog, Bandit