The Ledger
LAKELAND, Fla. — Whoever said “Let sleeping dogs lie” never met Bronko.
Bronko might be the toughest cop on the Lakeland Police Department force.
“This dog has such heart,” said Christina Animal Hospital’s Dr. Max Easom, who operated on Bronko. “He has a huge will.”
The K-9’s back legs were paralyzed in June 2009 after he jumped 25 feet to the ground while chasing a suspect at Henley Field.
His handler, Officer Jose Bosque, said Henley Field is often the host of break-ins, equipment theft, vandalism and gang graffiti.
The morning of June 28, Bosque and Bronko were dispatched to Henley Field. When an area is that big, the dog is unleashed to search.
Bosque said he heard someone running up steps with Bronko in pursuit. When the bad guy reached the top of some bleachers behind third base, he apparently jumped to freedom.
Bronko jumped after him.
Easom said Bronko suffered a broken vertebra and a blown disk. His hind legs were useless.
“His chances weren’t worth a damn,” Easom said.
Bosque said he took Bronko home and he and his wife, Cindi, set up a kennel emergency room.
Bosque and his family would wrap a towel under the dog’s hind end to allow him to walk on his front legs.
The amount of time taken to care for the dog, the stench of it all and a cancelled vacation weren’t the best things for his marriage, Bosque said.
Cindi Bosque does not disagree.
After weeks of the towel routine, Bronko was able to drag himself outside. That was a huge day for Bronko and the Bosques, who celebrated with a bottle of champagne.
Bronko gradually got better and regained the use of his legs. And then he pushed himself back to work.
Bronko was back on the job two months after his injury, but only as a slow-moving, drug-sniffing dog.
He now has been recertified as a patrol dog by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Last month, Bronko finished second among 19 dogs at a United States Police Canine Association competition.
“He made a miraculous recovery,” Easom said. “But the miracle isn’t that he’s walking. A lot of dogs would have been walking again, but that’s it. The amazing thing is that he’s back at the police station and working.
“He was full of fire,” the veterinarian said. “He really wanted to work again.”
The other thing that brought Bronko back “was the love he got from Jose and his family,” Easom said. “It was extraordinary.”
Bronko, who is 4, is back to his old self, Bosque said.
“If he’s chasing after a bad guy, I feel bad for the bad guy,” he said.
Bronko’s a better dog since his injury, Bosque said, more affectionate.
Before, Bosque said, “he was a workaholic.”
Copyright 2010 The Ledger