Retired K-9 Heroes Steps In For Retired Police Dogs

Shaman spent more than three-quarters of his life working for the St. Petersburg Police Department.

About four years ago, a suspect robbed a downtown bank and fled on foot. Together with his partner Chris, Shaman tracked the suspect to clothes he left in a Dumpster. In vintage Florida criminal fashion, the suspect had left not only his clothes but his wallet.

Shaman and Chris caught another bank robber – along with his mask, the stolen money, and a gun – hiding in the bushes.

Yet another time, a suspect – a big guy, Chris says – shoved him down and took off running. Shaman took off running, too, catching up with the suspect as he tried to scale a fence. Shaman pulled the suspect down, but the suspect ripped a board off the fence and started swinging it at Chris. The suspect took off running again, with Shaman hot on his trail. Finally, Shaman grabbed the man by his legs, dragged him down and kept him pinned until Chris could get there and cuff him.

Before Shaman, Chris had another partner. This one pulled a man off an elderly lady, whom he was attempting to rape at knifepoint.

Over the course of a law enforcement career, Shaman – and officers like him –  get punched. They get kicked. They got shot at. Chris had one partner that a suspect tried to strangle.

Just because they’re dogs doesn’t make it less of a crime. In the eyes of the courts, punching, kicking or otherwise assaulting a police dog is no different than punching, kicking or otherwise assaulting a police officer. These dogs are, in fact, law enforcement officers, protected by state statute.

Officer Chris Ladd trains officers to work with police dogs. He praises the dogs’ work. Where humans hesitate, police dogs jump in.

“They’re always there for you in the fight, with no hesitation.”

While on the force, police dogs enjoy the same protections as police officers.The department ensures the dogs get food and vet care.
Once the dog gets injured and can’t work or retires, though, it’s on its own.

After his murder last year, the St. Petersburg Police offered Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz’s dog, Ace to his family, but as for his care and feeding? They were on their own. Other sources stepped in to help care for the now-retired police dog, but every dog isn’t so lucky.
Police departments across the state – this doesn’t just apply to the St. Petersburg Police– buy these dogs specifically for police work, but at the end of the dog’s “useful” life they have no plan for the dog. If the officer who has worked with the dog cannot take the dog on, at his own expense, the dog has nowhere to go. In theory – although Officer Ladd doesn’t remember this happening – the dog that served and protected could spend his final days in an animal shelter.

  None of the local law enforcement agencies offer vet care or food assistance to retired K-9 dogs. The four cups of food a day are a steady expense, but vet bills especially can drain a family’s resources.

“German Shepherds, as a breed, are prone to hip problems, and they (police dogs) jump a lot of fences,” Officer Ladd explains. “By the time they retire, their best years are behind them. Their hips and backs start to go.”

Shaman’s veterinarian bills average about $400 a year, Officer Ladd says.

“I’ve been lucky so far. I haven’t had any real expensive vet bills,” he says.

Shaman is on the list to get assistance from a relatively new group, Retired K-9 Heroes. The group’s founder, Cameron Beall, started the group in July 2010. Beall himself works with a bomb-sniffing dog at Tampa International Airport, and he cares for a retired dog as well (as an officer of a registered nonprofit, Beall cannot and will not take assistance for his dogs.)

Instead of lobbying law enforcement agencies to offer help to retired police dogs, Retired K-9 Heroes depends on the goodwill of strangers to donate. Beall doesn’t see changes to how law enforcement agencies treat retired dogs anytime soon.

“They just cut my pension; how am I going to get them to pay for a dog’s pension?” he asks.

The Pinellas County Sheriff has 15 dogs; so do the St. Petersburg Police. Clearwater has five dogs; Tarpon Springs, Pinellas Park and Largo have four dogs each. The other cities use the dogs “employed” by the Sheriff. In total, that’s 47 dogs that, in the next few years will retire.
 

  Right now, Retired K-9 Heroes aims to offer $200 per year towards vet bills, although the group has a waiting list. Beall says he had hoped to get dog food coupons, but so far no dog food company agreed that his cause was worthwhile enough to donate food.

  With awareness and community support, Beall hopes to be able to offer financial assistance for every dog who has offered his life for his partner. Ladd agrees that a police dog’s unique sacrifice also makes them uniquely deserving of help.

“These dogs have served and protected the citizens of these cities,” Officer Ladd says. “Maybe I’m biased, but to me that makes them a little more special than the average pet.”