Kansas City, Mo. ? Police say a man bit an officer and his dog Friday after trying to stiff a cab driver of his fare.

Mark A. McClarty, 28, of Kansas City, Kan., was charged Friday with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and stealing.

Soty, a Kansas City, Mo. police dog, suffered a bite to the left ear during an arrest stop early Friday.

Capt. Rich Lockhart said a cab driver told a police officer at 2:15 a.m. that someone had refused to pay a fare. When the officer found the man nearby and tried to stop him, Lockhart said, the man spun around and punched the officer.

Lockhart said the officer used a remote control to release his police dog from the patrol car, and the dog joined the fight. After the dog bit the suspect, the man bit back and nearly took off the dog’s ear.

The suspect also bit the policeman’s hand.

The officer was treated at a hospital, while the dog’s ear was reattached by a veterinarian.