This is the moment Florida cops rescue a dog that was stabbed in its side by a man looking after it for its owners.

The black Labrador mix, named Midnight, was stabbed by the 36-year-old suspect in the city of DeLand in Volusia County in the US state of Florida on 11th November.

The suspect then travelled to the nearby coastal city of Ormond Beach where he threatened to kill himself, according to the police.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office shared footage of the dog being collected by Animal Services officers with the message: “A dog whose human stabbed her in the side before leaving her at home in DeLand and threatening suicide in Ormond Beach on Thursday was recovered by Volusia sheriff’s deputies and Volusia County Animal Services officers, who took her in for treatment and put her on the road to recovery.”

The police said the man, name not disclosed, was “taken into protective custody by the Ormond Beach Police Department under Florida’s Baker Act after a brief standoff in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn at 155 Interchange Blvd., Ormond Beach” and that “animal cruelty charges are pending against the 36-year-old suspect who stabbed the black Labrador mix”.

The police were called to Hampton Inn at around 3.20pm following a report from the crisis intervention hotline about a “suicidal subject”.

Officers “negotiated with the subject, who was in a vehicle holding a kitchen knife, and took him into custody without incident”.

While under arrest, the suspect told the police that he stabbed his dog in DeLand and officers went to check on the animal.

The police said: “Deputies went to the DeLand address to conduct a well-being check on the dog and found her in the house with an apparent knife wound to her right side.

“She was friendly and up and walking around despite her injury.”

Animal Services officers took the dog to a veterinarian, who said Midnight suffered a lung injury, but was in a stable condition.

As the dog was microchipped, officers soon determined that the suspect was not its registered owner.

The police said: “The owners were contacted and advised they’d recently allowed the suspect to take her home with him.”

The owners were “shocked by the attack” and said they would like to take care of Midnight when the female dog is “well enough to leave veterinary care”.

The police said the suspect has been taken to “SMA Behavioral Healthcare in Daytona Beach for a mental health evaluation” while Animal Services works with the State Attorney’s Office to decide on the appropriate charges.

The police added: “The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Ormond Beach Police Department and Volusia County Animal Services for the professionalism, teamwork and partnership that led to the peaceful resolution of this call and the rescue of an innocent animal.”

The investigation is ongoing.