Prize-Winning Police Dog Missing

A prize-winning Palos Verdes Estates police dog disappeared from the front yard of his handler’s home Saturday afternoon, prompting a citywide search and a department plea for the animal’s return.

Bandit, a 4-year-old black German shepherd, vanished shortly before noon from the home of Officer Joe Hall, the dog’s handler, who lives in the 1000 block of Palos Verdes Drive West.

Hall said his roommate, Officer Dave Black, had been playing with Bandit in the unfenced front yard just minutes before the dog disappeared.

“My roommate went inside and about 10 minutes later came out to get Bandit and Bandit was gone,” said Hall, who added that the dog has never run away before. “He may have gone through the bushes and someone saw him as this big friendly dog and they got him in their car, not knowing who he was or what he was, and took him home.”

One of two Palos Verdes Estates police dogs, Bandit was bought about two years ago with $5,000 collected during a special community fund-raising drive. The dog, trained in Germany, responds only to German commands.

Bandit was not wearing a collar or any identification tags at the time he disappeared, but KC1042--a German registration number--is tattooed in green inside one of his ears.

Although the highly trained dog has predominantly black fur, Bandit also has some tan coloring on his legs and underside and a tiny white mark on the bridge of his nose, Hall said. The dog stands about 27 inches tall at the shoulder and weighs about 90 pounds.

Hall said one of the dog’s nicknames is “Stretch” because he is very lean and long and has a tail that almost touches the ground, an unusual trait for a purebred German shepherd.

“He’s very, very friendly. We call him a slut puppy because he’s so friendly,” Hall said. “He’ll put his paws on your shoulder and lick you in the face. He can look me almost in the eye doing that and I’m 5-foot-9.”

Although Bandit is trained to help police corner violent suspects, he poses no threat to the general community, Hall said.

“He’s just a big friendly guy. In fact, he likes cats,” Hall said. “We’ve got three domestics and six wild ones, and he sleeps with one or two or all of them if he can.”

Department officials ask that anyone who has seen Bandit or knows where he is contact the department at 378-4211.