http://www.13abc.com/story/19193696/police-dog-dies-after-being-left-in-hot-patrol-car
This is becoming a pattern. For the life of me, I don't understand why it is so difficult for cops to understand the concept of not leaving a dog in a hot car. More training, obviously, is necessary, in my opinion. What a beautiful dog.
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This broke my heart. Frankly, if a cop is THAT stupid, I'm thinking they should no longer be a cop.
Apart from being stupid and cruel...
...it would seem to me that this police officer just "lost" an asset worth thousands of dollars (training and upkeep costs). Shouldn't he be forced to pay the restitution costs to the city or county?
Not trying to be a "cold number cruncher" regarding the death of the animal, but I'm sure the costs of making a regular dog into a police dog are large.
posted by oldhometown on Aug 05, 2012 at 02:20:04 pm #
The sheriff suspended the canine program until further notice?? Why in the world would this result in the suspension of the program? Suspension of the deputy, I could understand...
posted by MoreThanRhetoric on Aug 05, 2012 at 03:02:21 pm #
If the deputy is not fired, he should be rassigned to animal control where he might develop some compasion for abused pets.
I am reading too many accounts of this across the country in the last few years. Maybe candidates for the job of k-9 handlers should take some kind of tests to determine their compassion for animals. The right candidate should also have extensive experience with dog ownership in the last 20 years. I have a feeling these officers have never owned a dog in their lives. I would like to know how handlers are chosen. Are they recruited or assigned the job?
I agree that the deputy should definitely be suspended without pay if not outright fired. How else to keep this from happening again.
"Shouldn't he be forced to pay the restitution costs to the city or county?"
I definitely agree with that, oldhometown.
I think, if I recall reading somewhere, it costs over $30,000 for the training alone, minus vet costs, food, etc.
I know there are many k-9 officers who love their canine partners. I've seen news reports of handlers choking back tears or sobbing after losing their dogs to injury or even natural causes, since they adopt them when the dogs retire. They truly respect the dogs. I wonder if these other handlers, whose dogs die due to their irresponsibility, even care for the dogs. Maybe it's just a job to them.
The deputy got 45 days suspension without pay...cost him about $6,500 but no charges. The dog was buried with honors.
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