In Massachusetts, a legal fight is brewing over the four-legged heroes whose job is to find clues where humans cannot: police dogs.
But after retirement, they are usually what animal advocates say is forgotten.
However, not anymore, as lawmakers are drafting a bill to create a commission fund for police and military dogs, so it will cover their medical care across the Bay State.
The proposal is called Dakota’s Law—named after the brave K-9 Dakota, who was known for tracking the Boston Marathon bomber but was traumatized after his service and recovered at a care center.
Currently, several of these aging heroes are left to suffer. According to the Boston Herald, the dogs faced two stark options after the service.
Some of them face handlers who struggle to pay their expensive vet bills. But others end up experiencing a grim fate, being put down because of sky-high care costs.
It is worth noting that each dog could incur up to $18,000 a year in costs, in addition to hundreds of dollars’ worth of monthly medication.
However, supporters of the bill rally behind the proposal, which is picking up steam in the State House.
“These dogs, K-9s, give us the best years of their lives serving us and protecting us, and they run towards danger,” state Sen. Kelly Dooner, a Taunton Republican, told the Herald.
“They deserve to be treated just like we would treat the other officers,” she concluded.
