HOLYOKE -- Two city residents have been held on $50,000 cash bail each after the pair was arrested on charges of armed robbery and injuring a police dog.

Holyoke police officers were called to the intersection of Maple and Appleton Streets at approximately 10:30 p.m. for a report of armed robbery near the McDonald's.

The victims told the responding officer that, as they walked towards the McDonald's to order food, two men were staring at them. After they received their food and left the establishment, one of the men approached the pair.

They told police that one of the men, later identified as Joseph Steven Albelo, said, "Come here... We've been watching you guys... You roll with someone? What block you from?"

The pair said that Albelo then pointed a knife at them as he and another man, later identified as Rafael Serrano, robbed them of their belongings.

They reported a list of items of varying value stolen: a square gold ring featuring yellow and black diamonds, a gold Tenko-brand watch with diamonds in it, a North Face backpack, two smartphones and $150 in cash.

After the men began to run away with the goods, the victims told police they chased them. A witness at the scene told police he saw the encounter and joined in the chase while calling the police. The three lost sight of the men several blocks away.

Multiple city officers responded to the search for the men as another took statements from the victims and witness.

An officer spotted men matching the dispatched description near the intersection of Maple and Hampshire Streets. When the officer exited the vehicle, the men reportedly ran in different directions. The officer chased on foot as Albelo rode a mountain bike around downtown. He lost the suspect when he rode down a hill on Bristol Place towards Commercial Street.

As Holyoke Officer Ryan Tabb was driving in a marked cruiser towards the police station for his shift, he saw Albelo reportedly attempting to flee police and joined in the chase.

When close to Albelo, Tabb exited his cruiser with his partner, police K-9 Jori. Tabb said in his statement of facts that he shouted for the man to stop running because the police dog will bite, but the man continued to run.

Jori caught up with Albelo and bit him in his lower leg. Several officers on the scene reported witnessing Albelo then repeatedly attempt to stab the dog.

"As the K-9 was running next to Mr. Albelo, I observed him swinging his right arm at the dog in a downward stabbing motion," Officer Michael R. Everett wrote in his report.

Tabb said he heard his partner yelp and that the man attempt to stab the dog at least five times.

"I saw him about to stab again and jumped on him, held him down with both hands and told him to drop the knife."

Tabb handcuffed the man and court documents state a "kitchen-style knife" with a red handle was found near him in the grass.

Albelo was reportedly wearing a gold Tenko-brand watch with diamonds at the time of his arrest.

After Albelo was handcuffed, Tabb rushed his partner to VCA Boston Road Animal Hospital in Springfield for treatment.

"I had not known how many times Jori had been stabbed and was trying to monitor him as he bled in the back of the cruiser," Tabb wrote in his report.

Jori was stabbed between his shoulder blades and his neck and required seven stitches. He is expected to be okay and back to work in a few weeks.

Other officers were dispatched to find the second suspect. Serrano was seen running near Lawrence Full Service Community School. When police caught up with him and exited the vehicle, Serrano reportedly stopped and followed the officer's orders.

Both city residents were arrested on charges of armed robbery, disorderly conduct, willfully injuring a police dog, cruelty to an animal, carrying a dangerous weapon and resisting arrest.

The 25-year-old Albelo and 27-year-old Serrano were arraigned in Holyoke District Court Wednesday morning and pleaded not guilty. Judge Maureen Walsh ordered each be held on $50,000 cash bail. Neither had posted bail by Wednesday afternoon.

Serrano, according to court records, is facing the multiple charges while on parole. He was arrested in 2013 on breaking and entering into a motor vehicle and other charges after attempting to enter a motor vehicle parking in front of a Farnum Drive home. The homeowner saw him prevented him from leaving the scene until police arrived.

Both are scheduled to be back in Holyoke District Court on August 14.