Man Bites Dog

[TheNissanMan]

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The world turned upside down in Syracuse, New York, Saturday night -- at least for one drunken bar patron and an unlucky police dog.

After being thrown out of a bar, Paul Russell Jr., 33, bit Renny, a 3-year-old German shepherd, according to a report in Syracuse's Post-Standard newspaper.

The rare "Man Bites Dog" incident happened when Renny and his police handler were sent to investigate a disturbance after Russell was ejected by bouncers, the newspaper reported Monday.

Russell was on the sidewalk and bleeding from the head when he grabbed the dog by the throat and started choking it and biting it on the neck, police told the paper.

Officer William Foster reportedly punched Russell twice in the face before he released the dog.

Police charged Russell with injuring a police animal, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration.

Russell told the newspaper he was drunk and did not think he bit the dog. He said he had a broken nose and two black eyes. "I don't really remember," he said. "I was pretty drunk."

Russell was treated at the hospital and spent the night in jail.