Comments on: Police dogs: Protecting them as they protect us

By: H. Houlahan

H. Houlahan — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:58:21 +0000

I didn’t mean to imply that the product was a piece of junk — just that some sort of system failure seemed to be the cause of most of the tragedies I’ve heard of. This could be a bad installation, the car battery going bad, the thermostat malfunctioning, a wire being damaged (ever see the aftermarket wiring jobs on some police cars?) or a zillion other things.

I wish police K9’s (at least based on what I’ve seen where I have lived and worked) were selected and trained and handled and deployed in such a manner that they spent time out “on the beat” more, and less time stuck in the back of a patrol car, ready to spring. The dogs would be healthier and more integrated into their communities — everyone would benefit — handlers, police departments, and the public. And I mean that for general-purpose patrol dogs, as well as specialized detection dogs.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 03:50:23 +0000

I seriously haven’t scoured the internet for Quality Assurance reports and safety reports for this or like systems. What’s the failure rate, I wonder?

While I am all for these kinds of systems, I really feel that they should be put through extensive testing with many variable conditions to see how it measures up. I would seriously hate to see people [police officers or folks like you and me] become reliant on a faulty product. Not to mention leave the animal in the car more often rather than remove him and take him with you.

By: H. Houlahan

H. Houlahan — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:43:56 +0000

Most of the roasted police dogs that I hear about were in cars that have this system or one of its competitors installed — it’s when there’s a technical failure that tragedy strikes. Same thing with a few cases of RV-loads of show dogs — the electronic safety devices failed at some point.

I’m all for technological “insurance” — but it’s dangerous to depend on gadgets and trust that they are working in one’s absence.

The greatest car safety device ever is a wide-open sunroof.

By: JenniferJ

JenniferJ — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:15:05 +0000

this sounds like a great system. We have a Temp-Alert in our van that will page us if it gets too hot but it has broken down. This is a good reminder to get it fixed prior to the summer months.

I hope that all law enforcement agencies employing dogs will seek these out and approve funding to put these in their K-9 officers vehicles.