Huntington Beach : Injury Threatens Dog’s Career as Drug-Sniffer

A broken nose wouldn’t seem to be a career-ending injury in law enforcement.

But Rex’s assignment with the Huntington Beach Police Department is to be a drug-sniffer, so his injured snout may mean early retirement from the force.

Rex, a veteran of the department who happens to be a German Shepard, was struck by a car Friday evening on a parking lot access road at McDonnell Douglas Corp.

Sgt. Gary Meza said Rex, the department’s only narcotics-sniffing dog, had run from a field where he had been training and into the path of the car.

Suffering from a “broken nose and facial cuts,” Reza said, Rex was treated at an animal hospital and later was released to his handler, Officer Brian Pidrick, who was nursing his pooch partner back to health on Sunday.

“None of the injuries were life-threatening,” Meza said. “But we’ll have to see how the injuries heal as to whether he’ll be able to come back to work.”