OCALA, Fla. – A dog that was thrown into traffic twice by his previous owner is going home with one of the police officers who helped save him.
Ocala police Officer Miguel Gauthier had been interested in adopting Buck, an Australian shepherd, since the incident in November. Gauthier was allowed to adopt the 5-year-old dog after a judge ruled Tuesday morning that Marion County would be awarded custody of the animal.
Buck's previous owner, Michael Britton, was arrested in November after police said he threw Buck, formerly named Yoshi, into traffic twice.
Britton told the arresting officers that he wanted to end the dog's suffering because it had been hit with an arrow, but officials found no evidence that the dog had been injured before it was hit by two cars.
Britton was charged with cruelty to animals, assaulting a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer without violence.