Man Kicks Airport Customs Dog So Hard He’s “Lifted off the Ground”

Freddie, a five-year-old Beagle who works as a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) K9, was recently injured when a man kicked him at Washington Dulles International Airport. Now, the resilient pup has made a full recovery and is back to work doing what he does best — and the assailant has plead guilty to criminal charges.

On June 26, Freddie sniffed out a bag containing undeclared agricultural products during a customs baggage check. He alerted his handler, Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Specialist Melissa Snyder, and she then asked an arriving couple about the content of their bag. In response, Hamed Aly Marie, who was arriving on a flight from Egypt with his wife, violently kicked Freddie “so hard that he was lifted off of the ground,” according to the affidavit.

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Freddie was taken to a veterinarian, who determined he had suffered bruises to his ribcage. Meanwhile, CBP arrested Marie. They found that his bag was full of over 100 pounds of food, including beef, rice, eggplant, cucumbers, and corn.

K9s like Freddie are used to prevent undeclared products, which can potentially introduce invasive pests and diseases, from crossing borders. In his 22 months with CBP, Freddie has sniffed out 4,500 pounds of plant products and 3,700 pounds of meat. “We rely heavily on our K9 partners and Freddie was just doing his job,” Christine Waugh, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C., said in a statement. “Any malicious attack on one of us is an attack on all of us, and CBP will continue to work with our investigating and prosecuting partners to deal swift and severe justice to perpetrators.”

Marie pleaded guilty to the federal charge of malicious assault on a police animal. He was ordered to pay the veterinarian’s fee of $840 and removed on a flight back to Egypt the same day.

Over the past few weeks, Freddie was given plenty of rest. Thankfully, he’s now fully recovered and eager to return to work. His handler says that the pup, who was originally a rescue before being trained with CBP, finds a lot of fun in his tasks. “He thinks we’re playing hide-and-seek and he loves to play hide-and-seek all day,” Snyder told CBS News. “To him it’s the greatest game in the world, because he gets paid in treats.”

For more from Snyder on Freddie’s ordeal — and to see some seriously adorable Beagle cuddles — check out the interview below.