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ANAHEIM : Nude Man Tries to Bite Retriever

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A nude man covered with mud darted out of a drainage opening along the Santa Ana River trail on Sunday and tried to bite a Labrador retriever which two men were walking, police said.

One of the men punched the attacker’s face, causing him to retreat back to the drainage tunnel where he sat growling until police arrived at 1:30 p.m., Sgt. Charles Chavez said.

The man, identified as Robert R. Rowell, 39, of no known address, then apparently tried to escape out the other end of the tunnel, which empties at a shopping center near Imperial Highway and Santa Ana Canyon Road, Chavez said. Police blocked that exit before Rowell could get out, the sergeant said.

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“This guy was acting kind of bizarre and they decided it was best not to send an officer in there,” Chavez said.

About 2 p.m. police decided to send Dingo, a police dog, into the drainage pipe to retrieve Rowell. Dingo ran to the man and “latched on,” Chavez said.

During the struggle with Dingo, however, Rowell tried to bite back, police said. “He didn’t seem afraid of the police dog,” Chavez said.

After the brief confrontation, police were able to enter the 5-foot-wide tunnel and take Rowell into custody.

He was taken to Western Medical Center-Anaheim, where he was treated for dog bites and is undergoing psychiatric evaluation, Chavez said.

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