Dogs perform a variety of tasks in law enforcement, from helping to sniff out drugs and contraband to helping to catch criminal suspects to guarding prison boundaries. These highly skilled dogs often need 2 to 3 years of training, and they are retired when they are too old or too ill to work. This long training period and often short career means that the turnover rate of dogs in law enforcement is high.
Things You'll Need
- Vet
- Breeder's contact information (if applicable)
Instructions
Contact your local police department and your local political representative to determine what law or drug enforcement departments in your area accept donated dogs. This varies widely from area to area.
Contact local shelters, breed rescues and breeders. They may have insights about law or drug enforcement department that take donated dogs.
Make sure your dog is up to date on its shots. Be sure you can get a letter testifying to its health from your veterinarian.
Let a dog trainer of an interested agency give your dog a number of personality tests. The trainer will assess whether your dog has the right personality for police work.
Read and sign any contract that the law enforcement team gives you to turn over legal ownership of your dog. Be sure you know whether they will contact you to take the dog back if training does not work out.