You’d have to be barking mad to cross these canines! In June 3’s gripping season finale of the reality docuseries K9 PD With Jim Belushi, which uses body-cam, dash cam, and surveillance footage to highlight the unique bond between law enforcement and their hardworking pup companions as they take down criminals, one of the dogs, K9 Huk, is seriously injured. Still, he refuses to let go of the baddie — literally — between his teeth.
“He takes a bullet,” actor Jim Belushi (pictured above, with German shepherd Nova) tells us. “It’s amazing, because they do everything to save that dog. They clear out the road, have a helicopter come in, take the dog to the veterinarian clinic, and then they take him to surgery. But Huk holds onto the bad guy until they can cuff him. He does his job.”
The “very dramatic” sequence is just one of many stories in the two-episode ender, which also sees these fierce fidos pursue perps into public parks at night, up trees, and even underneath houses. Belushi, who starred in three K-9 movies from 1989 to 2002 as Detective Michael Dooley, developed an “intense appreciation” for the K9-cop dynamic after going on ride-alongs, working with dog trainers, and visiting a canine academy during his research.
“The depth of the relationship between a dog and their handler is indescribable,” Belushi says. “There’s an unspoken love that’s so deep. And then to see these two go out onto the streets together — they’ve got each other’s back.”
And when they’re off-duty? “What you really learn is, outside of their work, they’re just a dog. They want love. They want attention. They get bratty,” Belushi says with a laugh. “But when they’re in work mode, they’re in work mode.”
Don’t miss these dogs at work in the first season ender this week. K9 PD has not yet been renewed for Season 2 at this time.
K9 PD With Jim Belushi, Season Finale, Wednesday, June 3, 9/8c, A&E