Dogs that Serve and Protect

Police Officers and Armed Forces alike use dogs in everyday tasks.  So many thanks go out to our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers that are serving and that have served! But this thanks goes out to our K9 friends that are serving or have served.

ARMED FORCES

According to the NY times, The number of working dogs on active duty has risen to 2,700 from 1,800 in 2001, and the training school at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas prepares about 500 dogs a year.  In the military, dogs are used for their aggressive looks and deep bark to inflict fear into their aggressors as well as for drug and explosive sniffing purposes.  They tend to use German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, and Belgian Malinois as their dogs of choice. For more information, visit the link below.

New York Times – Military Dogs

CIA and FBI

The CIA and FBI are known for using dogs that are friendlier and can interact well with others.  This is because they want to draw as little attention as possible to their activities.  Often Labrador Retrievers will be used for missions that are in crowded or public areas.  However they do use German Shepherds as well.  Dogs in the FBI and CIA are trained rigorously.  They are given time to eat and sleep, but they are kept on a precise schedule - similar to how a human athlete would train and maintain his skills. That is why and how these K9 Units can sniff out over 19,000 different types of explosives!  For more information visit the links below.

CIA Drugs

CIA.GOV

FBI.GOV

LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

Our local Police stations use K9 units for apprehending the bad guys and sniffing out drugs and explosive materials.  K9 units have been a working part of local law enforcement for decades and will continue to help serve and protect for decades to come. For more information, visit the link below.

Police K9 Units

In the end, the main points are that these dogs need constant attention and training to keep on top of their game.  Dogs have signals that they relay that will change depending on what they have found, so even the dog handlers need to be trained to know what these signals are.

Dogs are an amazing part of our everyday life.  They are not only our companions, but also our heroes.  They protect and serve us in truly remarkable ways!

Featured Photo Courtesy of: Betsy & Pat