PASCO COUNTY, Fla. -- Pasco County Sheriff's deputies arrested a man following a pursuit that led them into a swamp in Land O' Lakes.

• 34-year-old Paul Smith arrested Tuesday
• Deputies say he was found in swamp after chase
• K-9 located Smith, licked his face instead of biting him

Paul Daniel Smith, 34, was taken into custody Tuesday evening.

"When we found him, he was just breathing out of his mouth and he had lowered himself, squirmed himself down into the mud," said Deputy Rob Wilkins.

Deputies estimate Smith was about a mile from the road when they found him, and they credit Deputy Wilkins' partner, K-9 Knox, with leading them to his location.

"The odor will hang on top of the water, so it's kind of helpful,” Wilkins said of tracking through watery conditions.

Pasco deputies were alerted to be on the lookout for Smith after he allegedly resisted arrest and battered a Hernando County deputy who was trying to take him in for a stolen vehicle tag.

He fled in a truck, still handcuffed on one wrist, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. A deputy spotted Smith on U.S. Highway 41 in Land O' Lakes and pursued him, as did district STAR Units in the area.

After turning into the Lake Thomas area, Smith hit a pole and a mailbox, authorities said. A female, Tara Berger, 31, jumped out of the passenger side when the truck slowed at one point and was taken into custody by deputies.

"At one point, his vehicle became disabled, and he fled on foot into the woods," said Pasco County Sheriff's Cpl. Andrew Denbo. 

That's when Wilkins and Knox were called in. Wilkins said Knox's specialty is tracking missing people, and he was prepared to deal with the swamp conditions.

"The big thing is exposing the dogs to different environments," Wilkins said. "We'll go train in the swamp, we'll go train around construction sites, loud noises – anything that the dog may encounter."

One thing Knox doesn’t do is bite and hold. So despite Wilkins' command to Smith upon finding him that he show his hands or he'd get bitten, body camera video shows the year-old bloodhound licking Smith's face instead.

"The reward for him is just to get to the end. He's proud of himself, like, ‘Oh, my God, I found the bad guy, I’m so happy,'" said Wilkins. "So, he was licking on the guy, and we’ll let him do that as long as we feel it's safe."

Smith faces a number of charges, including fleeing to elude, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and violation of probation. 

Berger was charged with lying to a law enforcement officer during a felony investigation.