Dogs and humans have been working together for thousands of years and police dogs, or K9 officers in particular, have been used in law enforcement for centuries. They perform a range of duties and services that some humans cannot. Few dogs are required to give as much as police service dogs. Police units in major cities use K9 officers to sniff out illegal materials, search buildings, track criminals, and more. Thousands of dogs are working on any given day and hundreds of police dogs have even given their lives protecting. These animals are trained to be part of the police force and considered full-fledged police officers.
There are some facts that even police officers may be surprised to hear about our K9 workers. To prove our point, we have complied a list of 7 interesting facts about police dogs you may not know.
7 Surprising Facts about Police Dogs
1. K9 officers were first used in America in 1907 in New York City.
2. Some of the dogs used in law enforcement come from animal shelters.
3. Police dogs live with their handlers while on duty and after retirement. This means they bond for life with their handlers and will always be part of the police family. Their handler feeds, grooms and takes care of the dog like they are their own pet.
4. Police dogs can tell the difference between identical twins. While this may fool the eyes of a human, dogs are trained to use their noses.
5. K9s are trained to sniff out electronics such as hard drives or thumb drives. Last year the Huffington Post reported on the first canine-assisted search for computer equipment. The dog was able to locate a thumb drive hidden four layers deep inside of a tin box in a metal cabinet.
6. Police dogs played an important role in searching for victims during the 9/11 attacks. More than 100 search and rescue dogs looked for survivors.
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7. Persians, Greeks, Babylonians and Assyrians were the first cultures to use dogs with the police.Do you have any unique police dog stories or a photo with you and your K9 partner? Share them with us in the comments!