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Imagine the police dog handler's surprise when the canine snapped at the ground, and the ground cried out.

That was how a police dog found a camouflaged burglary suspect, authorities in Washington County, Oregon, said Thursday.

The dog alerted his handler that he smelled something on the ground about a half-mile from the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals in Hillsboro, Oregon, a Washington County Sheriff's Department spokesman said.

The movement of the suspect spooked the dog, who bit the ground, which "cried out in pain," said Sgt. David Thompson.

The ground turned out to be a man dressed in a ghillie suit, made to resemble trees and earth, he said. Military snipers and hunters often wear the camouflaged suit.

Gregory Liascos of nearby Portland, Oregon, was charged with burglary and criminal mischief, Thompson said. Liascos, 36, has no criminal history and was lodged in the Washington County Jail pending a hearing, authorities said. He was treated on the scene for the dog bite on his shoulder blade.

Nothing was taken from the museum, said Thompson. He theorized the suspect was perhaps interested in a collection of gold nuggets.

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