Local news by me wanted to share.

http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2011/01/donations_sought_to_pay_for_me.html

This makes me as mad as it does sad, the dog puts it life on the line for that community and no one can afford to take care of the bill, not to mention the dog continued to perform after it was shot showing now signs of injury. Too many mixed feeling here I dont know what else to say. Luckily it seems the dog will be fine.

I thought K9 officers were considered city employees and were covered by all benefits as would a human officer???

As did I, if it had been a person shot on the job I am sure all the medical bills are taken care of. This is the state I live in, its all about the money and politics. What a shame....

What a nice looking dog to.

 Quote: Kyle DeSerio

As did I, if it had been a person shot on the job I am sure all the medical bills are taken care of. This is the state I live in, its all about the money and politics. What a shame....

What a nice looking dog to.

I'm thinking I might see if I can find out why this dog isn't covered as a city employee - and more importantly, why don't their dogs have vests?? (at least I think I read that he didn't have one, might have to double check that).

I think someone should read the riot act to this city if this dog truly isn't covered. It's a shame that the public has made a stand about this - or maybe if I try to investigate the story a little more we'll find out that they have.

 Quote: Kyle DeSerio

Local news by me wanted to share.

http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2011/01/donations_sought_to_pay_for_me.html

This makes me as mad as it does sad, the dog puts it life on the line for that community and no one can afford to take care of the bill, not to mention the dog continued to perform after it was shot showing now signs of injury. Too many mixed feeling here I dont know what else to say. Luckily it seems the dog will be fine.

So I re-read the article and it appears that the University that is treating the dog WILL NOT ACCEPT A PO for payment for their services. How ridiculous is this?

When I did AC I discovered that most K-9's are NOT covered for veterinary care and in fact the PD's that use them don't even budget for veterinary care other than routine shots. Most don't even provide vests for dogs, there are people that raise funds and donate them. I know the officer's that work with these dogs love them and consider them partners but it disgusts me that police administration in alot of areas consider these dogs disposable commodities. When Jerry Lee (the star of the movie K-9) was donated to a PD and renamed Star, and subsequently killed in the line of duty, there was a brief blurb in the paper-if that had been a human there would have been stories for days. I totally agree these dogs should have health benefits as a right of their position.

And they said the bills already exceeded the Vet care fund. It is my understanding that Canines are property and not employees. A lot of departments are having severe budget cuts.

Maybe Howard or David will have a better understanding?

 Quote: Jodi Moen

Most don't even provide vests for dogs, there are people that raise funds and donate them.

Many Law Enforcement agencies do not have the funding to provide their dogs with these vests. The cost of each vest is about $735, and they rely on private donations. Many states have a Vest a Dog program to help with funds.

According to a K9 handler friend of mine, EVERYTHING is by public donation. This includes the purchase of the dog itself, the training, the food, the vet care. Nothing at all gets picked up by the city it works for. This was quite a shock and a disappointment for me. Don't know if this is just the area I'm from or if it works this way everywhere. I've really pushed fundraisers for this dog because I feel so strongly about supporting the program. If you wanna do a good deed, buy a bag of food or a pet store gift card for your local K9. They are always grateful for the help. Especially if they don't have a big program like in little towns like mine. I think we have only 4 dogs in my county. It can really be a struggle to keep these dogs funded so they can work these days.

I can only speak for department for which I work. People don't always like the answers, but if nothing else, I usually tell it the way it is. With our department, we do budget for illness and serious injury. In addition to routine veterinarian procedures, food and equipment. Personally, I feel if a department can't fully fund a canine unit, and support it with the proper equipment and medical support, they shouldn't have a unit. I don't think they should rely on donations etc to provide for the day to day operation of a K9 Unit. Either the department fully commits or they don't. Many dogs don't wear vests for a number of reasons. Generally, it's been my experience, unless the dog is to be used for a specific hazardous situation, ie a SWAT call, a vest isn't worn. It's also been my experience that a vest wouldn't have made a difference in dogs that have been killed during a situation.

The "manager" of a K9 unit often has to make decisions that are not popoular. As hard as it may be to understand, there is such a thing as diminishing returns. Limited budgets, the expected working life of a dog all have to be considered. The cost benefit of replacing a dog rather than "fixing" an older one, all have to be taken into consideration. Yes, it is property. It's property that has a specific function. If it can't perform that function then it's an expenditure that often times there just isn't money for it. I've had to make those decisions. Personally, I try to be a good steward of the money I have to spend to support the K9 Unit. I can't do that using emotion. I won't allow a dog to suffer and I won't put an officer on the street with a dog that can not perform it's duties. Sometimes decisions are made that don't I don't like to make, but someone has too.

DFrost