Police dogs are absolutely unmissable in the force. They’re essential in some cases, and make an excellent partner for a human police officer. Usually, the police officer and handler of a K-9 unit receive training alongside the dog for special policing tasks (detecting bombs, narcotics, search and rescue…), and the two build up a very special bond together.
A dog working together with a human police officer just works amazingly well and most police forces definitely rely on these K-9 units for a lot of things.
K-9 units are common around the world, but it turns out that not all police dogs are treated with the same respect when they retire.
In China, for example, police dogs are employed in a similar manner. A human police officer is partnered with a K-9 unit, and the pair works together to help stop crime.
Of course, these police dogs can’t keep on doing this forever. They age too, and their job can be particularly stressful for some.
When human police officers retire, that’s usually seen as a reason to celebrate a long career, but the same can’t be said for some police dogs.
Police officer Bai Yan was on the force for over 13 years but learned a horrible truth about what happened to the K-9 units in his department after they retired.
Officer Yan has been through a lot at the force, and also worked alongside a couple of trusty K-9 officers throughout his career. He’s always had a special place in his heart for these K-9 four-footers and was absolutely heartbroken when he discovered their tragic fate.
It turns out that retired police dogs weren’t treated the same way as their human counterparts.
Officer Yan believed that these police dogs would be sent to adoptive or foster homes to have a warm and loving forever home, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. A lot of these retired police dogs were simply taken away from their partners, and they weren’t looked after at all.
Some of them ended up homeless on the streets, while others were sometimes even euthanized.
After years of service, often being involved in stressful and dangerous situations, a lot of K9s were simply ditched like trash. Instead of rewarding them for their service, they were left behind by the people they protected and worked with.
The former police officer wanted to do something for these abandoned dogs, because the way they’re treated is definitely not what they deserve.
In fact, Officer Yan dedicated his life to saving these former police dogs and spent his entire life savings on it.
The man saved over 150,000 US dollars, and he decided to put those savings to good use right away. He doctored out a plan to help out all of these former K9 dogs in need, and the big plan was to set up a kind of ‘retirement facility’ for all of them.
Former K9 dogs could then end up over here, where staff and volunteers would take care of these dogs until they find forever homes.
After weeks of preparation, Officer Yan’s big dream finally came to fruition.
The officer built a dog center in Hangzhou, in the Zhejiang Province, and he already took in a couple of former K9s who were in need of shelter, food, and care.
The retirement facility was built back in 2017, and the former police officer has already saved the lives of over two dozen retired police dogs.
He spends a ton of time with all the dogs and loves to play along with them! And even though these are all retired police dogs, Officer Yan makes sure to keep them busy and in shape by doing some old exercises and drills.
Instead of ending up on the streets, these retired police dogs now finally have the tender loving care they deserve at Officer Yan’s retirement center.
Of course, the goal is to find a loving forever home for all of them, and this facility finally gives them the opportunities to do just that.
Be sure to check out Officer Yan’s heartwarming story in the video below.
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