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By Kaylie Bozell K-9’s are used around the world for helping police officers, the FBI, and even the military. K-9’s are a great addition to all law enforcement agencies. Dogs have been used for hundreds of years in searching for criminals, bombs, and drugs. K-9’s have special qualities us humans don’t have. When seeing a police dog on the force he is rumored as a hero. That’s what they truly are. Police dogs are modern day hero’s and I believe they should accompany any law enforcement officer.Humans and K-9’s are actually very different. Obviously we appear different but all non-human animals have the same senses as a human. Eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. We are all similar in that way but how each of us animals use our senses differ. Police dogs are mainly used to sniff out bombs, find drugs, cadaver sniffing, and search dogs. A dog’s nose is its strongest sense. A dog uses its nose to get around the world. Depending on what breed the dog is, the dog could have up to 300 million scent glands while humans only have about 5 million. I know you’re thinking “but aren’t our brains bigger?”. To answer that, yes. A dog’s brain is about a tenth of the size of a human’s brain. However, the part of the brain that controls scent is about 40 times bigger in a k-9. Cool right? How about a dog’s ears…? Well, dogs have 18 muscles in their ears while humans only have 6. That’s why their ears are much bigger than us humans. They use these muscles in their ears to move them in the direction of which a sound is coming from. K-9’s can hear up to 4 times the distance than a human can with normal hearing. Overall dog’s senses are better than humans, making it easier to hunt down criminals and find drugs. Law enforcement agencies have used k-9’s for over 100 years. Since 1888 these dogs have been known as police dogs, services dogs, or attack dogs. It wasn’t until the famous Jack the Ripper came about, that police dogs were used. The dog used in this case was a Bloodhound. It wasn’t until 1970 that K-9’s were popular in the United States. More recently these K-9’s have now acquired their own police badges with an average arrest success rate of 93%. These dogs are a part of the police family and here are just a few stories that will make your heart fill with joy. Kenny the German Shepard from Irvine, California located a gun inside some bushes that was thrown out by a felon that was fleeing on foot after a vehicle pursuit. In Gloucestershire, England the local police station adopted a dog named Stella that was a stray Staffordshire Bull Terrier. She was unwanted and thrown out like garbage. She was recently recognized on national television for helping officers uncover $30,952 worth of drug money hidden under a mattress. Officers wouldn’t have found the stash of drugs without her help. Probably the biggest story that has recently happened in Mississippi. Lucas, a black Belgian Malinois saved his handler Deputy Todd Frazier from getting his throat slit by three suspects who beat the sheriff and drug the officer into the woods as an ambush attack. Lucas was able to chase the suspects down. Lucas bit one, if not two of the suspects. Police officers also agree that a criminal will listen better when there is a dog around. A criminal is less likely to listen to the officer because humans are less threatening than a dog with a loud bark and scary teeth. Every single one of these dogs is a hero. I know so many people who wonder if these dogs actually live a “normal” life. Police dogs are no different than our typical companion animals. These dogs live with their caretakers. These dogs are treated like part of the family and are no means treated poorly. The dogs spend all day and every day with their caretakers. These dogs work the same shift as their caretakers and are not handled by anyone else. I conducted an interview with my local city police department about their police dog Gunner. The officer who takes care of Gunner has requested to remain anonymous and I am going to respect that. Gunner goes to work with the officer bright and early starting at 5am. Gunner has his own special spot in the back of the SUV used by his caretaker. Gunner rides around all day with his head sticking out of the window. Gunner and his caretaker do anything from traffic stops to detective work. At the end of their shift Gunner and his caretaker head home. But not until Gunner stops at Starbucks Coffee and gets his own Puppichino, or even an ice cream cone from McDonalds. Gunner has 2 other human siblings he gets to snuggle in bed with at night. Gunner lives in your average suburb neighborhood with children running all over. I asked what Gunner’s favorite thing to do is. Gunner’s caretaker replied… “well playing fetch of course.” Lucky for me I have met Gunner countless of times. No, not because I’m always getting trouble, but because my dad is also a police officer along with Gunner and his caretaker. My dad comes home with so many stories about what Gunner has accomplished that day or even what him and Gunner did while Gunner was on break. While talking to my dad and Gunner’s caretaker I got to witness Gunner pull my dad around on a wheelie computer chair. Yes, you read that right. Gunner the police dog pulled an officer around the police department on a computer chair. It was quite the sight to see. Police dogs aren’t always all business and scary teeth. They have feelings just like every other non-human animal, and luckily law enforcement agencies understand that and treat these dogs with outmost respect. K-9’s are a great addition to any law enforcement agency. With the average success rate of 93% and all of the success stories, I believe these dogs should be present in the police force. These dogs have so many skills, us humans could never even imagine having. These dogs are so special in so many ways and us humans are so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing animal assisting humans in saving the world. Now all these dogs need is a salary to go along with their acts of heroism. Maybe we can start paying them in dog biscuits. Resources: NPDF (2017). The National Police Dog Foundation. Retrieved from https://nationalpolicedogfoundation.org Dogs for Law Enforcement (2013). Canines in History. Retrieved from http://www.dogsforlawenforcement.org/police-canines-in-history.html McVicker, N. (July 16, 2015) Surprising Facts About Police Dogs. Retrieved from http://www.hero911.org/surprising-facts-about-police-dogs/ Pena, M. (July 1, 2014). Police Dogs: Just the Facts. Retrieved from http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/police-dogs-dog-breeds-k9-unit-law-enforcement Meno, D. (August 9, 2012). Dog Senses versus Human Senses: How do they compare? Retrieved from http://www.puppyplaygroundindy.com/dog-senses-versus-human-senses-how-do-they-compare/ Hawkins, J. E. (2017). Human Ear. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/ear Fox News (May 27, 2015). Police Dog Saves Partner’s Life After Ambush Attack in Mississippi Woods. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/27/mississippi-police-dog-hailed-hero-for-saving-deputy-life.html ITV Report (September 8, 2016). Giving Staffies a Chance: The Resuce Dogs Turned Policing Heroes. Retrieved from http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2016-09-08/giving-staffies-a-chance-the-rescue-dogs-turned-policing-heroes/ ITV Report (October 22, 2015). The Unwanted Staffie Turned Crime Fighting Hero. Retrieved from http://www.itv.com/news/west/2015-10-22/the-unwanted-staffie-turned-crime-fighting-hero/ AUTHOR BIOKaylie Bozell is a sophomore at Minnesota State Mankato majoring in Pre-Veterinary medicine. Kaylie is working towards a career as a Veterinarian and opening her own clinic. She is also an avid animal lover. Her love for all animals shows through her day to day life and also on her Facebook page. More posts from Kaylie
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This is a website about nonhuman animals, written by human animals taking a Society and Animals class at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Archives
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