A North Side man discovered the hard way that taunting and threatening a police officer's K-9 dog is a felony offense in Pennsylvania.

Kenneth King, 23, of 106 Sherman Ave., has been in the Allegheny County Jail since Sunday because he has been unable to come up with the $100,000 bond set by District Judge Eugene Ricciardi.

According to police, in the early morning hours Sunday, Mr. King walked past a Pittsburgh police car parked at the Sunoco gas station at 310 Cedar Ave.. In the backseat was a K-9 dog named Benny, who barked loudly at Mr. King.

The man screamed "shut the (expletive) up or I will shank you," according to the report filed by Benny's handler and partner, officer Ron Absten, who indicated the threat was directed at the dog. Mr. King also said "I hate dogs" and pulled a silver knife out of his pocket.

No one was injured in the incident, as neither man nor dog ever came in direct contact with each other.

However, under Pennsylvania law, it is a felony to "willfully or maliciously taunt, torment, tease, beat, kick or strike a police animal," which applies to dogs and horses, according to Mike Manko, spokesman for the Allegheny County district attorney's office.

"This is very rare," Mr. Manko said. "No one in the office can remember a case where anyone was charged with taunting a K-9 dog."

K-9 dogs that work with police officers have higher status, in a legal sense, than regular pet dogs, partly because they are so valuable, said Jim Watson, national secretary of the North American Police Work Dog Association, based in Perry, Ohio. Costs to buy and train a K-9 dog range from $5,000 to $15,000, Mr. Watson said.

"We heard about this incident because we get e-mail alerts," Mr. Watson said. "In this kind of situation, the dog would feel like he had to protect the police vehicle."

Because the dog could not get out of the car, it might feel frustrated and might bite on the wire mesh that separated the back seat from the front of the police car.

"They could break a tooth and would need a root canal which would cost $1,000 and lost time" off work, Mr. Watson said.

Mr. King's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 16.

Mr. King's parents, Keith and Annette Cash of the North Side, told KDKA-TV that their son was returning home from his job as a cook, has no criminal history and poses no threat to anyone.