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Letting K-9 Dogs Go With Handlers

Police officers and sheriff’s deputies who work with K-9 dogs often develop very close bonds with them. That can be a problem when the human handlers retire before their canine partners are ready to hang up the leash.

It happened in Marietta, Ohio, earlier this year. Marietta Police Officer Matthew Hickey retired and wanted to take his K-9 partner, Ajax, with him.

But Ajax had not yet reached normal retirement age for a police dog. State law on public property, which Ajax was, made it impossible for Marietta officials to simply sell the dog to Hickey. When public property is disposed of, it must be sold at auction.

Fortunately, an arrangement was worked out whereby Ajax and Hickey have not been separated.

State Sen. Lou Gentile, D-Steubenville, heard about it. He decided to do something to avoid a similar problem in the future. So Gentile sponsored a bill, approved last week by the state Senate, that would allow retiring law enforcement personnel to purchase dogs or horses assigned to them at fair market value.

House of Representatives members should approve the bill, too.

Law enforcement agencies spend thousands of dollars to obtain quality K-9 dogs. Simply giving the animals to their retiring handlers would be a disservice to taxpayers. Requiring that fair market price be paid for the canines ensures police and sheriff’s departments can replace them.

Often, that is the best thing to do for all concerned. Experts say K-9 dogs and their handlers develop strong bonds. Retraining an animal with a new handler can be very difficult.

Gentile’s bill is a matter of simple common sense. It ought to be made law in Ohio — and if something similar is not on the books in West Virginia, legislators should consider it here, too.

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