It was on the news that in 2 seperate incidences in the midwest this week that German shepard police dogs died of heat exhaustion while at work. Nothing was mentioned about animal cruelty charges against the police person who was working the dogs at the time. I was wondering what the difference is between someone leaving a dog in a hot car or a football coach conducting practice in the heat of the day and a player either dying with heat exhaustion or becoming extremely ill and the ensuing arrest of the responsible parties and the police officer who was not charged. I am extremely angry that there appears to be no one held responsible for these poor dogs dying a miserable death because the responsible person happened to be a police officer. In my mind it makes it that much worse.
And this is why my dogs don't get used for service.
I have seen too many abuses.
I wish I could feel comforatable donating but I never will do it.
I have personally witnessed seeing eye dogs being kicked, yelled at and treated like objects, many times over.
Many times the dogs are placed with people with who aren't stable mentally or aren't animal lovers.
This is where the abuse happens.
Sorry, not my dogs.
That goes for police dogs too. While there are many more cases of police dogs being treated just fine, there are the few like this.
Very sad.
The life of a service dog is not as carefree and fun as that of pets. They have a huge responsibility to perform required tasks. Just as with any animal owner, handler, caretaker, there are wonderful owners and there are those who do not deserve the incredible dogs placed into their care.
Unless you, as a breeder, are directly involved in the placement of your dog, you should be very careful with which organization takes your dog, as his final home may not be the one you would wish for him.
There is a cooling system in the vehicle that is supposed to protect the dog. Cruelty is knowingly or deliberately harming an animal. Accidents happen.
A better analogy is a dog that escapes a fenced yard and is hit by a car. You knew the road was dangerous and fenced your yard. The dog may have died a cruel death, but by you took reasonable precautions to keep it safe.
I agree, I have never allowed any of my dogs to go to any service organizations. They do not have the lives I prefer for my puppies. Seeing a local GSD sitting in a car for hours on end is not my idea of a good home. I believe the officer should be held accountable for not taking proper care of the dog. Yes, it is animal cruelty, the dog is still dead whether left in a car or dies in the field.
I know of a canine officer whose dog died in his car. The prior poster is right. The cars are equiped with heat sensors and cooling. From what I understand, the officer must activate this sensor, which this officer did not do because it was Spring time. This officer was devastated and sobbed like a baby. But, he made a mistake and was let go from his canine officer duties. He was not charged with animal cruelty. It was a mistake.
