Police K-9 units work awfully hard and deserve a lot of recognition. The sight of an adorable dog working to serve a city appeals to anyone.

And while dogs usually desire no more than love and occasional treats, these hardworking K-9s deserve proper benefits.

This includes medical and security benefits.

Luckily, a new Florida bill aims to make that a reality.

The bill is called Senate Bill 226. It’s all about the pooches with the police force. Those that sniff out threats, track down suspects, and just keep people company. They make up an important section of any state’s security, so they should be treated with respect.

Right now, the handlers of police K-9s pay for all of the dogs’ needs out of pocket.

Not exactly an ideal arrangement, since that should ideally come from the departments that employ the dogs.

Senator Bobby Powell spoke of the bill, saying “What you realize is that K-9s and these law enforcement dogs have abilities that far exceed human capabilities, as well as a lot of the technology that we have”.

With the hundreds of thousands of police dogs around the United States, that means a lot of doggy needs for the handlers to pay for.

It’s just not feasible in the long run, and this bill aims to fix that.

“We’re excited for the support that we got in both the House and the Senate in the legislature this year because we do support our police officers.” – continued Sen. Powell

Citing past cases of K-9 officers being shot in the line of duty, Mike Chitwood thinks the bill has been a long time coming. Dogs are not expendable.

The bill will work by setting aside a budget for the K-9’s every year, amounting to $300,000. It’s expected that each K-9 will receive up to $1,500 a year.

This’ll take a huge load off of what police departments themselves normally pay for.

Certain police departments do have funding in place for K-9 benefits and retirement, but they are the few. Most police departments simply can’t do the same.

And while K-9 officers wear badges and ride in the cars, their swearing-in doesn’t really do much.

Despite dogs being sworn in by some police departments, being “sworn in” carries basically no legal significance. The only sentence you get for harming or killing a K-9 officer is a fine and 10 years in prison.

For a K-9 to be eligible for retirement, they must be at least 8-years-old. However, K-9s who suffer certain injuries and setbacks can retire earlier.

It’s mostly these retired K-9s that Senate Bill 226 aims to help.

Things can now start to change for Florida’s K-9s, and time will soon demonstrate how big of a difference Senate bill 226 will make. Looks like all the good dogs working with the state’s police have something to look forward to!

Check out the sources below for more information. Give this article a share too!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: Newsnationnow, Slate.com, Animal Legal Defense Fund