Stop Hero-Worshiping Police Dogs

Note: Let me be clear that this article is NOT referring to the dogs that are used for search and rescue, NOR is this article referring to the dogs that are used to sniff out drugs in non-lethal situations, such as detecting drugs in your luggage or an abandoned locker. This article is solely focused on the dogs that are trained for lethal duty.

The scene is a familiar one. You’ve seen it multiple times on your local TV news. A funeral service paying tribute to a brave police officer who lost his life in the line of duty. The casket. The speeches honoring his bravery. The cameras panning shots of spectators’ tears. The line of police motorcycles leading to the cemetery.

But there is something different about this funeral. The fallen police officer is not human. It is a K-9 Officer. A dog. A loyal, loving, dog whose very nature is hard-wired to please the human charged with his care and well-being. I call bull***t on all this wailing and mourning over his death. Not because I am heartless. Keep reading to find out why these displays of public distress over a police dog’s death anger me.

When was the last time you saw a dog march himself into the Police Academy and tell the desk clerk — “I want to sign up and become a Police Dog. I want to voluntarily put my life in danger to protect the public and my fellow police officers.” When? Never, because it never happens. Dogs DO NOT volunteer for dangerous duty jobs. They are incapable of making those types of decisions.

Dogs can choose which human they like better. They can choose which toy they like best. They can choose between chicken or beef for dinner. They cannot choose a career path.

A human makes his own career decision. If he chooses a profession that places his life on the line, it’s his choice. It is tragic and sad when he is killed in action, but it was his choice. He knew what he signed up for.

Since they don’t volunteer for the job, I wondered where police departments recruited (?) their dogs. While researching information for this article, I found that dogs are specifically bred to be police dogs. There are breeders who specialize in breeding dogs solely to perform the dangerous job of police work.

Dogs are devoted, dutiful, faithful, loving, and will do anything to please their “people”, aka, owners, pet parents, or police trainers. That includes being trained “to bite dangerous suspects and hold them hostage. In many situations, they are the first ones to put their lives on the line and go in against an armed suspect to protect their human partners.”

What about when they are shot and killed while rushing in to “hold” a suspect?

The dog did not volunteer for this. It was not his own free will. A beautiful, intelligent, loving, loyal animal is dead because a human placed him in this situation. He is dead because his loyal obedient nature dictates that he will unquestionably do what he has been trained to do. Even if it kills him.

You may argue that placing dogs in these perilous situations is necessary to save human lives.

So it’s acceptable to put an animal’s life in danger, an animal who had no say in the matter? You may be okay with this, but I am not.

What about you? I’d like to hear your opinions in the comment section — respectfully, please.

A pro/con discussion on this subject can be accessed here.

First Published in Medium.com

©Copyright 2022 Joan Gershman