TANGIPAHOA PARISH, La. — She may not realize it, but Tangipahoa Parish K-9 officer Bella has a lot to be proud of and thankful for.
“Bella performs flawlessly,” Chief Jimmy Travis said.
Travis says in her oath to serve and protect, the four-and-a-half-year-old German Shepard did just that Saturday night.
“Bella, while attempting to stop a fleeing subject, put herself in the line of gunfire and took the bullet that could have been intended for one of the two deputies that was there on scene,” Travis said.
Bella and those two officers responded to a call about two men walking around with guns in the Bedico Creek Lane Trailer Park off CC Road.
“This was not the first time we had received such a call in the past week on these two individuals,” Travis said.
When deputies found James Loyd, 52, and Thomas Loftis, 21, an arrest attempt led to gunfire.
“As Bella approached him, Loftis pulled a revolver and opened fire on officers, including Bella,” Travis said.
Bella was shot in her right jaw.
“Basically, it ripped it open, soft tissue damage, left a large gash,” Travis said.
The two men ran off and barricaded themselves inside a camper. Inside was Loyd’s mother, Charlotte O’Reagan, 73, who told officers to come back the next day. Refusing to come out, officers used what they call a “chemical agent” to get all three to surrender. Bella was taken to a hospital.
“I was immediately worried about the officers’ safety and her safety,” Lieutenant Corey Michelli who oversees the K-9 unit said.
Lt. Michelli said he’s thrilled to see Bella back.
“I met her that night at the hospital,” Michelli said. “I was giving her hugs and kisses and thanked her for doing her job.”
On the force for about three and a half years, Bella is back pawing around at the sheriff’s office, but not back on duty. Bella still has stitches and is expected to fully recover.
“Part of her retraining, her getting back into going to full duty, is to start working with her around gunfire,” Travis said.
Bella is one of four dual-purpose dogs at the sheriff’s office, which means she’s trained in both apprehension and narcotics. If she’s unable to continue work on the apprehension side, she’ll still be able to do narcotics.
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