It’s no secret that not just any dog is cut out to be a police dog. Currently, there are eight police dogs in London. They consist of German Shepherds, a German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix, and a Labrador according to the London Police website.
These highly trained dogs work 365 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. They are typically called in for in-progress crimes such as break-and-enters, robberies, and missing persons. But they can also be called in to detect firearms, drugs and/or explosives.
The training for the dogs typically starts between 15 and 18 months old. It is very rigorous as it entails “five-days a week for sixteen weeks straight before we can certify a dog for what we call general purpose patrol work,” said Lee Currah, Sergeant and Trainer for the London Police K9 Unit. He followed up by stating that this training includes things like tracking, obedience, searching, handler protection, and agility among other things.
When the K9 unit recruits a new dog, they also recruit an officer who will be the handler of that dog where they are involved in the training and working with the dog. So, as Currah points out, the bond between the dog and the officer forms naturally. This is because these dogs work with the officer during the training course, they go home with the handler, they travel with the handler, and they live at home with the handler.
“These dogs spend more time with their handlers than the handlers spend with their wife and kids sometimes,” he said.
These dogs become a huge part of the family. So much so that when it is time for them to retire, they retire at home with the handler and their family.
“We like to see them work for about seven years. So, then by the time they hit the age of eight or nine years old, that’s when we’ll retire the dog. And what happens when we retire a dog is the handler obviously gets first pick of the dog and the dog retires at home with handler,” said Currah.
Once a dog has retired, the K9 unit starts the process all over again where they will recruit a new dog and a new handler.
As for when a dog passes away, Currah explained how it is not your typical police funeral service. But that previous and current handlers will get together to reflect and celebrate the dog’s life and service, and they have a canine honor roll where they memorialize each dog in the unit onto a plaque when they retire.
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