May 19, 2009 2:19 pm US/Central
Chicago Police Dog 'Bear' Had Run Away Before
'Bear' The Dog Jumped Fence Wednedsay, Was Missing 3 Days
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Bear the Chicago Police Dog jumped a fence during a thunderstorm Wednesday night and escaped. He was reunited with his partner Sunday.
CBS
A Chicago canine officer was reunited Tuesday with the Good Samaritan who is credited with likely saving his life.
Bear the Chicago Police dog had been missing for three days. A clap of thunder frightened the narcotics dog so much on Wednesday, he jumped the fence at the home of his owner, Detective Rick King.
On Saturday, Good Samaritan Howard Overton spotted Bear along some railroad tracks on the Southwest Side.
He waved down another officer who brought Bear to safety.
Overton received a $2,000 reward Tuesday.
Bear's first meal after coming home was a hamburger from Burger King.
But this isn't the first time Bear has run away, reports WBBM Newsradio 780's Steve Miller. The 3 1/2-year-old ran away more than a year ago.
Bear's human partner, Chicago Police Officer Rick King, said Bear at age one made his way over a cyclone fence in King's yard and was missing for about 40 minutes. He had run away to a nearby park, King said.
The officer said that's the first place he checked after Bear disappeared Wednesday night.
King said when Bear disappeared the first time, it was right before a storm, and Bear practically climbed the four-foot fence "like a monkey."
"I never saw a dog do that," he said.
So he says he then put in a taller fence - which Bear was able to get over last week. Now King says he's exploring options for an even taller fence.
A police spokesperson did not place any blame with Officer King.
Spokeswoman Lieutenant Maureen Biggane says, "It's not an issue of neglect."
Biggane says that in recent memory, only one other police dog ran away, and that was in 2006 when a dog named Bart escaped from an officer's back yard and disappeared for about a day after a contractor left a side gate open.
K-9 dogs help the Chicago police bring in millions of dollars in narcotics and transaction money each year.
WBBM Newsradio 780's Steve Miller contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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