The Life of a Police Dog

Police Dog Breeds

• Most police departments in the United States use German shepherds, described by the American Kennel Club as "the world's leading police, guard and military dog," or Belgian malinoises, a slimmer, lighter breed, as K-9 officers. Both breeds are members of the AKC's herding group, and both are muscular, intelligent, fearless, and deeply loyal to their handlers and families.

Temperament Testing

• Potential police dogs undergo extensive testing to make sure they have the personality for the job. "We don't want mean dogs," said Sacramento County deputy Rick Kemp, whose K-9 partner's name is Clint. "We want social, calm, confident dogs."

Training

• The Sacramento Sheriff's Department uses only male dogs from specific breeders in Germany and Eastern Europe for K-9 officers. Some other departments use both male and female dogs.

  Trainee dogs live with their handlers and start their work between the ages of 14 and 20 months. In Sacramento, their initial training is designed to take 90 days. If the animal is especially intelligent, however, it may take far less. During this period, dogs are tested for their ability to run, jump, climb ladders, and adjust to changing circumstances such as poor lighting or sticky floors.

  Throughout their professional lives, K-9 officers continue to train at tracking and apprehending suspects and finding contraband such as drugs and firearms in buildings and automobiles. Police dogs in Vermont return to the Police Academy in Pittsford once a month to have their skills tested and to get more training. The training is as much for their handlers as for the animals. The handlers must remain in control of the dogs at all times.

On the Job

• Once a police dog passes his tests, he is often sworn in and issued his own badge and bulletproof vest. Several states, including California, Massachusetts, and Texas, have enacted statutes that make it a felony to injury a police dog.

Interacting with the Public

• Part of a police dog's job is to interact with the public. Even in working situations, police dogs are around bystanders and witnesses, so they have to be able to deal with those people differently than they do with suspects. In some jurisdictions, police dogs take part in charity events. The temperament of the animal is paramount in such situations, since he will have to tolerate the attentions of adults and kids in a social setting.

Retirement

• When a police dog can no longer fulfill his duty, he usually retires to live out his life with his handler and the handler's family.

Death in the Line of Duty

• Sadly, some police dogs do die in the line of duty. In such cases, the dog's police department frequently buries its fallen comrade with full police honors. When South Carolina Deputy Michael Deese and his K-9 partner Sonja died in a traffic accident in 2007, they were buried in the same coffin.