EXCLUSIVE: ‘I was mauled by an out-of-control police dog on holiday in Spain – imagine if I had been a young child’

AN aspiring young footballer has said he has been left ‘paranoid’ after falling victim to a savage attack by an unruly police dog while holidaying in Spain.

Kealan Behan (20) was walking down Carrer de Carles Buigas in the touristy city of Salou, Catalunya on Wednesday when a canine sprung out from under a police vehicle and bit him.

The incident left the tourist bloodied and requiring a visit to the local pharmacy, where he was forced to fork out almost €40 for plasters and antibiotics in an attempt to stave off the threat of infection.

Behan from Dublin, Ireland was walking with his girlfriend, and planned to ask the police officers for directions on how to get to the go-karting track nearby, when the out of control hound attacked.

He explains, “We were walking near the wall when we saw a police vehicle with its back facing us.” “There were three policemen there and we wanted to ask when the go-karting bus in Salou left.

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It turned out that there was a German Shepherd under the car. He came out of the car as we were about to ask a question. He then latched on my stomach. I have a tiny mark on my stomach. He didn’t get me because I was wearing a T-shirt.

“My first reaction was to push down on him, but when I did this he bit my upper leg part again.”

Later, the wound began to bleed before swelling.

The Irishman says the dog ‘didn’t seem to have any recall or anything to tell him to stop’, and appeared ‘very reactive to humans’.

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Behan said that one of Policia Local’s officers had blamed him for this attack. They claimed that a young couple had sneaked into the car to spook the dog.

He was later offered a mild apology – although the cops didn’t take note of the incident or even offer the wounded Behan a first-aid kit or medical assistance before hurriedly driving away.

Behan worries that the incident could have been much worse.

“God help me if I was a young child or mother with a stroller, going to a park nearby, walking around the rear of the car when the dog grabs a child. He says it would have been a very different situation if he had been a child or walked with a buggy to eat in s park, and the dog grabbed n someone’s child.

“Thank God, he didn’t get me or, as I mentioned, a kid, or my girlfriend, who was next to me. If he had, she could have been dinner.

“I would have been in the hospital if I had been bitten more.” I’m so glad my tetanus shot was still valid from my native country.

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Behan trains five days a week with Bohemians FC, a top football side in his native Ireland, as part of a higher-level college course – and says the injury could have impacted his aspirations to play the sport.

He says, “Oh yes, I’m sure, if the jabs on my leg weren’t current, God forbid that my entire leg became infected. Now, that wouldn’t have been perfect.” This would have caused a real nightmare.

Behan’s girlfriend says the ‘horrible experience’ left her ‘shocked’ on what was the young lovers’ first holiday abroad together.

This has raised concerns about the training of Spanish police dogs.

“I was surprised because, at the end of it all, they should be trained,” she says. “They’re supposed to have been trained K9s. You should be able pet them and they should be friendly, unless there is something going on.” It was our first time together and we didn’t expect Kealan to be bitten, it was totally out of the norm.”

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Behan continues: “Is this a dog who hasn’t fully been trained?” A K9 dog shouldn’t be aggressive towards a person. […] The dog was just thrown back in the cage with a slap on the nose – not that I want anything to be done to the dog, of course. It is not the fault of the dog. It’s never the dog’s fault. “It’s the owner.”

He admits the incident ‘ruined’ his day and has ‘definitely impacted’ the remainder of the couple’s week-long holiday.

According to the Polcia Nacional (National Police), dogs that are on active duty in the police force are trained to obey and be calm when out in the public. Any defensive behaviour is controlled by the handler.

Before they are put into active service, potential police dogs must complete long training courses that aim to cement the relationship between dog and handler.

For a response, we have reached out to the Policia Local de Salou.

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